THE SCIENCE OF CORRESPONDENCES
ELUCIDATED

Edward Madeley

<< CHAPTER XXIV >>

THE LORD'S WORD MAGNIFIED ABOVE ALL HIS NAME. COMPARISONS
BETWEEN THE LITERAL, AND SPIRITUAL SENSES OF THE WORD OF GOD;
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE USE OF CORRESPONDENCE IN EXPLAINING
DIFFICULT PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE ITS USE IN EXPLAINING THE MIRACLES
AND PARABLES CORRESPONDENCE OF THE SUN, MOON AND STARS. THE
ISRAELITISH JOURNEY FROM EGYPT TO CANAAN. EXPLANATION OF
VARIOUS SCRIPTURE PHRASES. EZEKIEL S VISION OF HOLY WATERS. TWO
MIRACLES ILLUSTRATED BY THE LAW OF CORRESPONDENCE, viz. :
"DEATH IN THE POT," AND THE RESTORATION OF SIGHT TO THE MAN
BORN BLIND, BY WASHING IN THE POOL OF SILOAM. THE TRIBUTE
MONEY FOUND IN THE FISH'S MOUTH RELIGION AND SCIENCE
CONNECTED CONCLUSION.

BY REV. THOMAS GOYDER.

THE Psalmist in addressing the Divine Being, says: " Thou hast  magnified thy Word above all thy name " (cxxxviii. 2). Now the Lord's Word is truly magnified, because it treats of infinitely higher subjects than what appears to the natural sight in the sense of the letter. In its literal form and clothing it may appear to the superficial reader to be loose and disconnected ; in this appearance it is compared to sand : but the spiritual truths which are stored up within, are called "treasures hid in the sand." (Deut. xxxiii. 19.) With respect to the truth it contains generally and as a whole, which forms the base or foundation upon which every Christian rests his hope, it is called a rock ; but in allusion to its spiritual truth with the delights thereof, as applicable to all the states of human life, it is the honey within the rock. To every true Christian who contemplates the Word with a holy reverence, the Lord gives " to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock." (Deut. xxxii. 13.) The Word with respect to its beauty and fertility, even in the letter, is compared to and called a Paradise ; and inasmuch as it is God-breathed, a Divine and not a human production, it is the Paradise of God : but with respect to the celestial nature of its interior contents, it is the hidden manna within the Paradise, of which every one who really desires may eat and live forever.

The Literal and Spiritual Senses Compared.

The Word in reference to its literal construction, appears, especially to the careless reader, not only to contain various doctrines, but even such as appear to be opposed to each other ; in this sense it is represented by Joseph s coat of many colors : but as to its interior spirit and life, which is one uniform whole, it is the living Joseph himself, who, as the representative of the Lord, though despised and hated by his externally-minded brethren, goes before to provide food for them, and to save nations from famine and death.

The Word, again, as to its letter, appears to be so constructed as to be capable of division and sub-division, and is represented by those outer garments of the Lord which, at his crucifixion and rejection, the soldiers who denote those who contend for the letter but not for the spirit of Revelation, divided amongst them ; while the fact of each man looking at, and contending for, the superiority of his own part, without any reference to the others, appears to be the origin of all those opposing sectarian doctrines, whose advocates wrangle and fight about comparative trifles ; thus straining out gnats and swallowing camels ; while the inward spirit of its contents is alike unknown to and disregarded by all. But the spiritual sense of Revelation, which is one unbroken and uninterrupted system of Divine instruction relating to all the affections, thoughts and states of human life, and to their progressions into higher degrees of perfection, is represented by the Lord s inner garment, the vest without seam woven from the top throughout. This vest, because it was without seam, the soldiers agreed not to rend, but to cast lots for it whose it should be. This fact instructs us that the Divine Providence is ever watchful over the Word of Revelation ; that its inward life may not be injured, but that it may be kept whole and entire, they cast lots for it whose it should be. The lot, which excludes all human interference in spiritual mutters, has undoubtedly fallen, not upon those who deny but upon those who admit a Divine spirituality to be contained in the Word throughout, and that it is unbroken, that is, without seam. It has fallen upon that church and dispensation of spiritual truth which, in Rev. xxi., is designated the Holy City New Jerusalem which descended from God out of heaven. Here the sacred vest is preserved whole and entire, which will be the means of again bringing together all the Lord s outer garments, or those literal truths which, in con nection with the spirit of Revelation, are harmonious and beautiful ; and which, by the law of correspondence, are the legitimate coverings of the Lord as the Word.

Admitting the spirituality of the Word, and applying this immutable law of correspondence as the only true Key of knowledge in the illustration of its contents, how easy are all its truths unfolded, and how grandly do they rise up before us, displaying, in one rich and lovely scene, the providence and wisdom of God. Is the Divine Truth generally, in its literal form, called a rock ? a foundation upon which to build our hopes and expectations ? then do we see the important instruction figured forth by Moses striking the rock in the wilderness, and the waters gushing out to supply the thirst of the people. To strike is to have communication with ; the rock is the Word as a whole ; hence the act of striking the rock teaches us to communicate with the Word of God, and that from such striking or communication, an abundance of truths, as the waters of life, will quickly flow for the cleansing of all interior impurities, as well as for the nutritious improvement and health of the soul. This is purely an apostolic interpretation, founded upon that immutable law according to which all Scripture is written, and by which alone it can be explained.

The apostle Paul, speaking of the various things which happened to the Israelites, says : " Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples ; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (1 Cor. x. 11) ; and speaking of the water from the rock, he says, they " did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Hock was Christ " (ver. 4). Christ, then, is the Rock, because He is the Word the living Truth which follows us in our journey to the heavenly Canaan. We drink of that spiritual Rock, for from " his fulness have all we received and grace for grace." (John i. 16.) When it is clearly seen that all existences in nature are types and emblems shadowing forth the realities of heaven, and that Scripture mentions these in reference to spiritual realities, so that by visible things the invisible are brought forth, then, indeed, it will be clearly seen that the Lord has magnified his Word. With this knowledge the Book of God becomes unsealed, and its sacred contents presented to view. Now Scripture declares man to have been created in the image and likeness of God. No one can doubt the truth of this statement; if so created, he must, in his very constitution, shadow forth the perfections of his Creator. There is, therefore, a mutual relationship between all his mental powers and bodily organs ; and in Scripture the latter are put to signify the former.

The soul, or living man, receives immediately all his powers from the Lord, while the body receives, mediately, its strength and power of action from the soul. That which gives to the organic structure both its form and power is the immortal man or soul ; and this again receives all his power from the Lord. Hence in Scripture, the bodily organs are mentioned to signify the powers, principles and faculties, of the mind. This, when seen and acknowledged, will explain all those parts of the Word where the bodily organs are mentioned. Thus by the head, the supreme part, is signified wisdom and intelligence ; by the eye, the understanding ; the ear denotes obedience ; the nostrils, the grateful perception of what is good and true ; the lips, tongue, and organs of speech generally, the acknowledgment and confession of the Lord ; the arms and hands, the powers of the mind ; and the legs and feet, the external life and general conduct. Again, most of the bodily organs run in pairs ; and where this is not outwardly observable, it is so by a more minute inspection. The reason of this is that there is a close correspondence between the two essential properties of Deity, which are love and wisdom, and the forms receptive of these in man.

For the reception of Divine Love and Wisdom, the two mental faculties of will and understanding were created, the corresponding bodily organs of which are : in the head, the two hemispheres of the brain, called the cerebellum and cerebrum ; and in the body, the heart and lungs. In respect to the organs being in pairs, we may mention the eyes, ears, nostrils, cheeks, lips, shoulders, arms, hands, legs, and feet. All the organs on the right side of the body possess a greater degree of power than those on the left, and in Scripture are mentioned in reference to the will, and to somewhat of power as to good or evil, while those on the left are named in reference to the understanding, bearing some relation either to truth or falsity. This knowledge will explain all those passages of Scripture where the bodily organs are named.

Correspondence explains difficult Passages of Scripture.

The Lord says : " When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." (Matt. vi. 3.) Literally neither the left hand nor the right hand can know anything about alms-giving To do alms from the right hand is to exercise power in their distribution from the love of good, and from a pure motive : but to impart that motive to the left hand first, or before the deed is done, is to give alms from truth, in order that they may appear in the light and be known abroad ; thus the alms are not done in secret, but for the sake of appearing, and for some selfish gratification. In this case there may be a worldly reward, but none from our Father in the heavens. The deed has been done from a sinister motive, from the left hand ; it is utterly barren of all true religion, all spiritual reward. Again, the Lord says : " If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee ; " and " if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee." (Matt. v. 29, 30.) Here by the eye is meant the understanding, and by the right eye a knowledge of truth from interior goodness. But as the offence of the right eye is described, it is the understanding of truth perverted by evils of life, whence come offence, spiritual crime and death. To pluck this out, is to cease from such state of perversion, while to cast it from you is to utterly hate and abhor it. Similar observations will apply to the right hand, only with this difference, that the hand is an emblem of power, and the right hand power from goodness of heart : but the offending right hand is the power derived from evil and its degrading pursuits ; this, too, must be cut off and cast away, be utterly abhorred and hated, or heaven with its glories can neither be entered nor seen.

Another important lesson is taught us in the fact of the Lord send ing out his apostles and disciples by two and two, and giving them power over unclean spirits. (Mark vi. 7.) This was done to teach us that the two faculties of will and intellect must be engaged unitedly in the work that the love and practice of truth, with the knowledge of it, must go together. When these two are united, a power is given over all the unclean affections and perverted principles of the mind ; so that true religion grows in the soul, and heaven is formed within ; hence we read that the disciples who were thus sent out by two and two, returned and said : " Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." (Luke x. 17.) When the will and intellect are united so as to progress in the regeneration together, everything then prayed for and desired is, that spiritual improvement may increase, which will explain these words of the Lord : "Again I say unto you, I hat if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." (Matt, xviii. 19.) The Lord condescended to wash his disciples feet, and said : " If I, your Lord and Master, wash your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet." Here by a knowledge of the spiritual signification ofthe feet, this passage opens in all its value and importance. The feet denote the external life and general conduct in the world. To wash is to cleanse and purify. All purification of soul, is effected by the truths of Revelation ; for these are the cleansing waters which are from the Lord, and applied by Him. Without this outward purifica tion, there can be no evidence of an inward; for the language of the Lord is : If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." If we feel the necessity of this spiritual cleansing, we shall, like Peter, address the Saviour and say : " Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head : " not only that part of my life which is outward and external, as being connected with the world, but also the powers of my soul, with all that is high, supreme and inmost. We ought, then, if we call Jesus Christ, Master and Lord, to wash each other s feet ; that is, in the true spirit of Christianity, to assist in cleansing and regulating each other s outward life and conduct, that so the purity within may be exhibited by the cleanness without.

We have already shown that the human body, as a whole, as well as all its parts, members and organs, are mentioned in Scripture in reference to the soul, and to its various faculties, principles and powers. If this be a truth, of which, judging from the examples already given, there can hardly remain a rational doubt, we have only, under Divine guidance, to follow on with the same chain of reasoning, in order to be convinced that the Word of God is truly wonderful, and that it is to every spiritual traveller to Zion, his faithful and steady conductor his pillar of cloud by day ; his pillar of fire by night.

Explains the Miracles and Parables.

We read in Scripture of the poor, the maimed, the halt, the lame, blind and diseased ; of the deaf and dumb, of the captives and the dead. Now the coming of the Lord was effectually to release the human race from these maladies and diseases. He came to set the captives free, to give sight to the blind, to preach the glories of his kingdom to the poor, to restore health to the diseased, to unstop the ears of the deaf, to make the lame man leap as the hart, and the tongue of the dumb to sing ; He came to quicken the dead to life by proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord. If we suppose that these diseases, maladies and imperfections are to be confined to those of the body, we not only deceive ourselves, but we reduce the Word of God to a dead letter ; and if the miracles wrought by Jesus Christ are to be confined merely to the restoration to health of a few sick people, and to the raising of some three or four individuals from the dead, then the miracles become deprived of their vast importance, spirituality and use. The miracles of Jesus Christ were not done merely to show his power in the days of his flesh, and then to cease ; but they were especially done to set forth his eternal power and Godhead, by showing, spiritually, that He is performing like miracles for the benefit of the human race in every age and generation of the world.

The law of correspondence can alone open these subjects in their true import, and prove beyond all doubt that the testimonies of the Lord are wonderful. By this law all diseases, maladies and imperfections of body, are named in reference to perversions and imperfections of mind ; while the curing of these denotes the restoration of the soul to spiritual health and soundness. Thus by the poor are meant, not those who have little or no worldly wealth, but those who are poor in spirit, who have not the truth of heaven, but who ardently desire it. It is to these (whether rich or poor in a worldly sense) that the Gospel is preached, and these are they whom the Lord fills with good things. The rich are those who are in raptures with their own self-derived knowledge, whose worldly, carnal wisdom leads them to despise being led by the truths of Revelation. These are the rich in their own estimation, who because they receive not wisdom from God, are described as those whom the Lord sends empty away.

This view will open to us a most important truth, that we are not to make a spiritual estimation of man, either from his worldly wealth or worldly poverty. It will show clearly what cannot be rationally denied, that the lords and nobles of the land, if lovers and seekers of what is good and true, may be among that class of persons whom the Scriptures call poor ; while the daily laborer, priding himself in his own spurious knowledge and vanity, while at the same time he is neglecting the spiritual duties of religion, may be among those whom the Scripture designates the rich. This will fully explain the Lord's words, " Blessed be ye poor ; for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke vi. 20.) And again, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matt. xix. 24.)

The lame, halt, diseased and maimed, signify those whose in ward evils of life ruin their spiritual constitution, so that they can make no progress nor walk in the Divine life ; they stumble in the way and halt in their purposes. By the Lord healing these maladies, we are instructed that when the truth is received and applied to the life, their inward pollutions are removed, and restoration to spiritual health is effected. Then, too, the tongue, as the organ of speech, by which is denoted acknowledgment and confession of the Lord, and which before was dumb or silent in the praise of God, becomes loosed, and breaks forth in songs of praise. It is then that the man comes into a luminous and happy frame of mind ; he has changed his own filthy robes his false and insane persuasions, for the white and shining garments of heaven the pure truths of Revelation ; he is then found " sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind." (Luke viii. 35.) This renovation of state is effected when Messiah s kingdom rules in the mind of man ; for " then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing." (Isa. xxxv. 6.) The former wilderness state of his understanding shall pass away, together with the dry, arid condition of his will, while the truths of Revelation, as the waters of life, shall break out as streams in the desert.

It is in consequence of the spiritual signification of the maimed, lame and blind, as denoting evils and ignorance of spirit, that in the Jewish church, the rituals of which were all representations of good things to come, no person was allowed to minister at the altar, or perform the ceremonies of worship, who had any blemish of body, such as being diseased, lame, deformed or blind. (Lev. xxi. 16-24.) This Divine law was written to instruct us that the pure worship of God cannot proceed from spiritual ignorance and deformity of mind. The blind and deaf are the objects of the Lord s mercy. He came to open the blind eyes, and to unstop the ears of the deaf. Here, again, the true law of Scripture interpretation affords the means of acquiring a correct explanation. By the eye is meant the understanding, and by the ear, hearkening and obedience of life. The blind eye is the intellect wrapt in spiritual ignorance ; the deaf ear, carelessness of, and contempt for, all heavenly Instruction, whence arise disobedience and a life of carnality and false pleasure. But when the eye becomes enlightened by the truths of heaven, and the ear lends a willing obedience to the voice of God, then the maladies are removed, and the things of God and heaven are seen and heard. Those whose affections are bound down to the perishable things of the world, who are by false, atheistical, or other persuasions, led astray from the pure path of life ; these are bound in the hard fetters of a mentally slavish bondage, and are called prisoners and captives : they are, as the Scripture expresses it, led captive by the devil at his will. Now nothing can set them free from this captivity, but the truth as it is in Jesus ; and if the truth shall set them free, they shall be free indeed. Hence one of the grand objects of the Lord's coming, was to give "liberty to the captives."

Those, again, in whom the life of heaven has become extinct, who have no spiritual affection for purity and wisdom, these are called dead. They are dead to all the living joys of heaven, and grovel in the uncleanuess of sensuality. But even these, at the voice of the Lord, or when truth finds its way into their hearts, and is therein received and loved, shall rise up from their deathly condition from that state of death in trespasses and sins, and spring upwards to that of life, righteousness and peace. These restorations are the real effects of the reign of Christ in his church, and they are even now in this day taking place; which will explain clearly this saying of our Lord :" Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they that hear shall live." (John v. 25.) It is to these spiritual evidences of the reign of Christ that the Lord alludes, when, in answer to John s disciples who asked Him the question, "Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another ? " He replied : " Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see ; the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk ; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear ; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them ; and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me." (Matt. xi. 5, 6.) These, then, are the grand subjects taught in the Book of Life. The truths of Revelation are the sacred testimonies of God. They clearly describe all the varieties of human affection and thought, as well as every man s growth in wisdom, righteousness and peace. Surely, then, we must acknowledge with David, that the testimonies of the Lord are wonderful.

Correspondence of the Sun, Moon and Stars.

The wonders of the Book of God will further appear, as we contemplate the vast scene around us, and view the grand theatre of creation as reflecting by its objects the goodness, wisdom and power of the Creator. The Scriptures call upon us to contemplate these things, and as such they must be designed to teach us the spiritual matters of eternity. The prophet invites us to reflection, and says : "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things." (Isa. xl. 26.) All created things speak, in their uses, the power of the Creator, and declare his wonders to the people. If we lift up our eyes on high, we observe the sun, moon and stars as the brightest objects in nature. Now these are frequently mentioned in Scripture ; and this is the reason why we are called upon to lift up our eyes on high, that we may contemplate their relative uses, and draw forth the spiritual lessons they teach.

The sun shines by its own light, and borrows nothing from any other created object ; it is, therefore, in nature, the bright emblem of the Lord of heaven, as the never varying and everlasting Sun of righteousness, who borrows nothing from any other being, but constantly dispenses his Divine heat and light his love and wisdom for the life and health of that creation He himself has produced. The moon has no light in itself, but reflects only that which she has borrowed from the sun. The moon, in Scripture, is therefore put to signify the Church of God, which has no light or truth of her own, but reflects only that wisdom she has borrowed or received from her Lord.

The stars, from their distance and the small portions of light they transmit to us, are emblems of all those principles of knowledge with which the mind is gifted, and by which it expands to higher degrees of perception.

The essential property of the Divine Being is LOVE. " God is love." This is represented by the heat of the sun, and his Wisdom by its light. Thus God is the fountain of all being. In reference to man, the sun is mentioned in Scripture to signify love received from, and directed to, the Lord ; the moon, his pure faith which forms the church in him ; and the stars are all the varieties of knowledge which beautify and ornament his mind. This will at once explain all those Scriptures where the sun, moon and stars are mentioned. All things of love, faith and knowledge are to be ascribed to the Lord, and dedi cated to his praise ; for man has nothing of his own. Hence the lan guage of David, " Praise him sun and moon ; praise him all ye stars of light ! " All men are created with the two faculties of will and understanding ; the former is the known receptacle of love from God, which will explain this passage : " In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun." (Ps. xix. 4.)

How do the Scriptures describe the end and desolation of the church, when by corruption and false doctrine the love of self supplants the love of God ? when ignorance supplies the place of a pure enlightened faith, and when all the vast varieties of spiritual knowl edge perish and decay ? They describe this state in their own language of correspondence. The Lord, speaking of this spiritual desolation, says :" Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." (Matt. xxiv. 29.) When in the church there is no celestial love to the Lord, the sun is darkened ; when there is no pure faith in Him as the One Lord of heaven, the moon gives no light ; and when all spiritual knowledges fail, the stars fall from heaven ; and then it is that the powers of the heavens the internals of the church and of man become shaken to their very centre.

The facts in nature and in religion are, by correspondence, so true to each other, that it is next to impossible to mistake their meaning. In nature, if the sun were to be darkened, the moon could give no light ; for she has none to give but what she borrows from the sun. So in the church, if there be no love, there can be no faith ; and where both love and faith are absent, there can be no heavenly knowledges. When the church is in a high state of glory, how dif ferent is then the description. John the Revelator in describing it, says : " And there appeared a great wonder in heaven ; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." (Rev. xii. 1.) The woman denotes the church, as to the affectionate reception of all that comes from the Lord, and which constitutes her unfading glory. She is imbued with celestial love clothed with the sun : she is grounded in a pure enlightened faith in the one Lord God the Saviour the moon under her feet: she is possessed of a rich fulness of knowledge including all varieties, which are the twelve stars upon her head, and which form her everlasting crown and diadem. Surely these descriptions are grand, beautiful and correct ! Our affections are touched by them ; our reason assents to their truth, and both united urge the lips of every true Christian to speak the language of David, and say : " The testimonies of the Lord are wonderful, therefore doth my soul keep them." (Ps. cxix. 129.)

By the science of correspondence, this true key of knowledge, every part of Divine Revelation, to those who love the truth for its own sake, is rendered plain and easy to be understood ; but to the evil, the careless and vicious, this science can offer no charms, for it enters too minutely into the secret recesses of the heart ; and while it lays bare the polluting degradation of all sinful lusts, it unravels the mysterious web of falsity and deceit, showing that " the secret of the Lord is {only) with those who fear Him." (Ps. xxv. 14.) True repentance is the first duty of man ; and he who refuses to perform this first work, cannot expect to be made acquainted with the secrets of the Most High. Let us apply this key to some further illustrations. The prophet Zechariah states, that " this shall be the plague where with the Lord shall smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem ; their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth." (Zech. xiv. 12.)

Jerusalem, the city of Palestine where stood the temple in which worshipwas celebrated to Jehovah as the true God, is everywhere mentioned in Scripture to signify the church of the Lord, in which the love of God in true devotional worship is felt, and his truth seen. The church emphatically denoted by Jerusalem, is the city of God and the tabernacle of the Most High. There still flows the river an abundance of divine truth which makes glad the city. There God himself is still in the midst of her, and she can never be moved. To fight against this city, is to oppose, both in thought and practice, the love, purity, wisdom and truth which form the true church both in the world and in the human soul. From this madness of opposition to all that is pure, holy and true, what can be expected to arise but a plague ? what but a plague and pestilence more dreadful in its effects than any that can happen to the body ? It is a plague that reaches the soul the real and conscious man ; and which describes the miserable state of mental desolation by the outward appearance of the body. The condition of those who fight against Jerusalem is, as to their spiritual existence, truly wretched ; and is here represented by the consuming away of the flesh, of the eyes in their holes, and of the tongue in their mouth.

The true spiritual church of God, the holy city Jerusalem, is filled with the highest, richest blessings of which the human mind can be receptive. It infuses love, charity and benevolence into the human will ; it enlightens the understanding with truths of the highest order, makes life a blessing, and throws a sacred charm throughout all creation. Here, in the Holy City, we are taught that God is our common Father, that we are all brethren, and that every true delight follows the pursuit of virtue. Here, again, the understanding is enlightened with truths that raise us up above the clods of the earth ; we are taught that God is immutable and good ; that man is free ; that the soul, the real man, is immortal ; and here resistless demonstration shows that there is another and a better world. Those whose affections are fixed upon the Lord, are described in the Word of God, not with their flesh consumed away, with their eyes wasted in their sockets, and their tongues consumed in their mouths ; but as altogether comely, fair and beautiful, as fat and flourishing, with their eyes opened, keen, penetrating and uplifted ; and with their tongues employed in tasting of the bread of life, and loosened to speak of and sing the praises of the Most High. Now the description of those who fight against Jerusalem is the very reverse of this ; their flesh, eyes and tongue consume away. When the spiritual sense of these words is seen, how clear, but how truly distressing will the description appear. Here three distinct terms are used, the flesh, the eyes and the tongue ; these, belonging to such as fight against Jerusalem, wither away, so that nothing is left but a skeleton of dry bones.

The flesh of the human body, in comparison with the bones, pos sesses the greater portion of life, and in Scripture is mentioned to signify all that belongs to the superior faculty of the mind, the will. The flesh of the unregenerate man denotes all that kind of spurious goodness which is not derived from the Lord, but drawn from his own impure desires, and which can yield no spiritual consolation to the soul, but is consumed as soon as brought forth. The prophet Isaiah thus describes how unsatisfying this is, and of such a man he says : " He shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry, and shall eat on the left hand and not be satisfied ; they shall eat, every man, the flesh of his own arm" (ix. 20). The prophet Jeremiah also, speaking of the unregenerate, says : " Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm " (xvii. 5). All the good that cometh down from God out of heaven, is the bread of life, and this the Lord calls his flesh : " The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John vi. 51.) Of this flesh, or Divine goodness, man should eat, or receive into his affections, that so his soul may be nourished to eternal life. The Lord s words are important : " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you" (John vi. 53) ; that is, unless the Lord s love be received in the will, and his spiritual truth, denoted by his blood, in the understanding, there can be no angelic life no heaven within. Those who fight against Jerusalem, whose impurity of life offers a determined opposition to all that is celestially good and pure, can have no heavenly beauty or comeliness ; all that is good in them decays under the plague and pestilence of selfish desires ; all the goodness of heaven in them withers away their flesh consumes while they stand upon their feet ; they have a name by which they live and are dead.

Another most awful state of their spiritual degradation is further described by " their eyes shall consume away in their holes." If ever there was a true description given of the wicked man, this is one ; but though true, it is awfully distressing. By the eye is meant the understanding ; that being as much the eye of the soul, as the organ of vision is of the body. The bright eye is the understanding enlightened ; the blind eye, the understanding closed against the reception of the truths of Revelation ; and the consumed eye, the understanding perished and lost. Where there is no love for the things of heaven, there can be no true knowledge of them, because the man takes no delight in them. In respect to heavenly things, when the will is depraved the under standing is dark ; this life persisted in, is fighting against Jerusalem. This must produce the decay of all spiritual knowledge, the perishing of the intellect. Where there is no good, there can be no apprehension of truth ; where there is no flesh, the eyes will consume away in their holes. This will be followed by the last sad state of degradation " their tongue shall consume away in their mouth."

The tongue to the human body performs a double office, that of taste and speech. With respect to the former, it denotes the relish, appetite and desire for all that is good and pure ; and with respect to the latter, confession and acknowledgment of the Lord : but when this is consumed away, we are instructed that there is then no relish for anything of a heavenly kind, no acknowledgment or confession of the Lord. The man is spiritually ruined. There is nothing good in him his flesh is consumed ; no understanding of truth his eyes are consumed ; no relish for the food of heaven, no acknowledgment of the Lord his tongue is consumed away in his mouth. He is spiritually nothing but a skeleton of dry bones without any sinews, flesh or skin.

The Journey from Egypt to Canaan explained.

The science of correspondence, this master-key to correct theological knowledge, renders the Scriptures valuable beyond conception ; for by exhibiting them in their true light, it shows their contents to be applicable to all the varied states of human life, both as to affection and thought. They are then discovered to be a present and constant Revelation, displaying at one view the religious states of all men, as well the evil as the good. They are seen to contain accurate descriptions of those trials, temptations and conflicts through which all must pass in their march from the earthly to the heavenly state. With this view, the journeyings of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan become exceedingly important ; for in this case the names of the places mentioned in their journey from Egypt whence they made their exodus, together with their wanderings and encampments in the wilderness, their murmurings and promises of fidelity, their victories and defeats, w/ th every other circumstance connected therewith, until their final possession of the land, are all representations of the corresponding progressive states of temptation, doubt and mental wanderings through which the sincere Christian passes in his spiritual journey from a state of earthly-mindedness, denoted by Egypt as the land of bondage, to that of celestial peace and rest enjoyed after the conflict has subsided, and which is shadowed forth by the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey. To give a minute description of all these, comes not within the intention of this work ; it would require a separate volume to do it justice.

Suffice it to say, that the land of Canaan, including all the boundaries of Israel s dominions, represents the church which is the Lord's kingdom in the world ; every place having its spiritual signification corresponding to its situation with respect to its distance from, or proximity to, Jerusalem as the capital of the land. Now the extension of the land of Canaan, by which is meant the church, was from the river of Egypt even to the river Euphrates of Assyria. This appears from the covenant made with Abram, where it is said," Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt, unto the great river, the river Euphrates." (Gen. xv. 18.) Hence it is said that Solomon " reigned over all kingdoms from the river [Euphrates] unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt." (1 Kings iv. 21.) All those places which are not included within the dominions of Israel denote those states of mind in which the careless and unthinking dwell, regardless of those spiritual truths of Revelation which bring life and immortality to light, which yield purity and wisdom to the mind.

Those who are carnally minded, lovers to distraction of the false pleasures of sense, to the total exclusion of the spiritual pleasures of truth, are, in Scripture language, on the outside of the boundaries of Israel ; they are dwellers in Egypt, the land of bondage, and like the captive Israelites their sensual condition compels them to hard drudgery in mortar and in brick ; they are required to complete the tale of bricks while they are refused straw. As the Israelites were infested and tasked by the Egyptians, so these are enslaved by evils and falsities of every kind. In this state they are made to produce bricks, or arguments that are fictitious and false, while they are themselves compelled to search for the straw, the lowest principles of scientific knowledge, in order to complete their work. But even here the Divine Truth reaches them, and speaks in the same language as that which Moses addressed to Pharaoh, and says : " Let my people go that they may serve me." But the ruling principle in that mind which bends to sinful habits, is too apt to return an answer, and in pride or contempt for all that is spiritual, say, as Pharaoh said to Moses, " Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go ? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." (Ex. v. 2.) Out of this ignorant Egyptian bondage man, however, must come, or he shall never possess true liberty, or enjoy the sweets of the heavenly life. He cannot taste the milk and honey of Canaan without leaving the land of Egypt.

Various Scripture Phrases explained.

A knowledge of correspondence proves the Word of God to be a most precious treasure to the Christian mind : its truths become enchanting, and the soul is filled with ecstatic delight. Not a word can be found therein that is not filled with the richest wisdom. However apparently trifling some narratives may appear in the letter, yet when correspondence, this true key of knowledge, is applied, their spiritual sense becomes instantly developed, the scene brightens before us, our personal interest is discovered, and our animated affections urge the lips to say, as Jacob did when he awoke from his dream :"Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not." (Gen. xxviii. 16.) Believe it, kind reader, to be a great truth, that the Holy Word can only become valuable to you, as its sacred narratives are seen to be descriptive of your own spiritual states of affec tion, thought and life.

We read in Scripture of walking, running, standing and sitting ; of going up and down ; backward and forward : all these expressions, which literally seem to apply only to the body and to its rest and varied activities, are significative of mental operations, and describe both the rest of the mind and its progressive changes of state. Thus as walking and running in reference to the body, are the successive changes of its place ; so in respect to the mind, they denote its spiritual progressions or changes of state. Walking, as being a slower change of place than that of running, if said to be upward or forward, is the progression of the understanding into higher decrees of intelligence and wisdom ; but if downward or backward, it is then a receding from truth, followed by a successive entrance into obscurity and ignorance ; the lowest degree of which is designated " outer darkness ;" while running refers to the more rapid progressions of the will, if upward or forward, into higher states of good ; if downward or backward, to lower desires of evil. The good are therefore said to go upward and forward ; the evil downward and backward. We are hence taught, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isa. xl. 31.) Here we find that they who wait on the Lord renew their strength by running and walking, to instruct us that there can be no weariness of will or fainting of the understanding, when love prompts quickly to action, and wisdom points the way.

With this interpretation we see the lesson taught us in the fact of the two apostles running together to the Lord s sepulchre, and why it is said that the " other disciple (John) did outrun Peter and came first to the sepulchre." (John xx. 4.) John, the beloved disciple, in his representative character, denotes ardent love; Peter, faith or truth. The will or love is quick and ardent to attain its object ; the understanding comparatively slow in its minute inquiries into and deductions of faith. John came up first to the sepulchre, but went in last : Peter came up last, but entered first. This instructs us again, that although the will, in its ardency, arrives early at the end of its desires, yet it is the understanding that first explores the truth, and imparts the knowledge gained to the anxious will. Thus, again, to sit before the Lord, is to will and act from Him, consequently to be at peace : to stand before Him, is to look to Him and comprehend his Divine will, whence comes a cheerful obedience to Divine precepts, which in Scripture is called walking with God.

In the Word of Life, the expressions " to go in," and " to go out," frequently occur ; the former denoting a penetration of the mind into the interior recesses of Love and Wisdom ; the latter a going forth, or out, of the energies of the mind into the external and common duties of life. In both these conditions those who enter into the church and place themselves under the Lord s government, are said to be saved ; they find true enjoyment in everything, and hence it is written, " they shall go in and out and find pasture." (John x. 9.)

Ezekiel's Vision of Holy Waters.

The Scriptures open with amazing beauty to the thoughtful Christian ; but to the mere worldling and sensualist they offer no charms. This will be made apparent by an explanation of the following remarkable vision :" Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house ; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward : for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the outer gate by the way that looketh eastward ; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters ; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters ; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass over ; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over." (Ezek. xlvii. 1-5.)

In this chapter we have an account of what is generally termed Ezekiel s vision of holy waters. It is certainly one of the most singular, interesting and instructive of any contained in this whole prophecy. No one can read it with any degree of thoughtful attention, especially if he attach inspiration and sanctity to the Scriptures, without being convinced that some spiritual and heavenly instruction, relative to the spirit or mind of man must be contained in the literal expressions. If it were not so, of what earthly or heavenly use would it be to know that upon the first measuring, the waters rose to the ankles, upon the second to the knees, upon the third to the loins, and that upon the fourth they so miraculously increased as to become an immense impassable RIVER ? We may indeed suppose it to be singularly mysterious and miraculous, and look at it with the gaze of empty wonder. But the mind penetrating no deeper than the shell of knowledge, and resting, though not satisfied, in the mere literal expressions, we shall lose all its internal value and brightness, and be altogether unaffected with its mighty power and truth. Never will the Christian world have any real knowledge of the truths of Revelation, until they begin, with a true energy of mind, to think deep. They must leave off the folly of applying them to " the deeds of days of other years," and apply them to their own present states of mind, of affection, thought and life. Then, and then only, will they be able to see the beauties of Revelation s page ; then will they joyously extract its honey sweets, then will they draw forth its spiritual truths those living waters from the eternal Fountain of salvation. It is impossible that this vision can be at all interesting to merely worldlyminded men, to those who have no taste or relish for the mental delights of a pure religion ; to those whose God is their belly, and their heaven the mammon of this world. We can but regret the existence of such states ; for surely a few moments of human life cannot be better spent than in the contemplation of those things which connect us with God and heaven, and with the vast concerns of an eternal scene.

The first thing which presents itself for our meditation, is the true and indeed the only signification of the Temple or House of God, whence these waters wrhich were measured and which increased in depth and magnitude at each measuring, issued. In the first verse, the waters are described as issuing out from under the threshold of the house eastward, and that they came down from under, from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. The prophet then states that the man who had the line in his hand to measure the depth of the waters, brought him out of the way of the gate northward, and led him to the gate that looked toward the east, where the waters ran out on the right side. Here, on the right side, the measuring of the waters took place. At each measuring of a thousand cubits the waters increased. At the first measuring, they were to the ankles; on the second, to the knees; on the third, to the loins; and on the fourth, they were a river that could not be passed over. The instruction contained in this singular prophecy will open to our minds in all its beauty and magnificence, if we carefully and minutely observe the order which is here laid down, and by which the prophet was brought to behold the miraculous increase of these waters. But if we are careless in our meditations ; if we ramble over the Word of God in the same way that we would over some light and trifling fairy tale ; in this case it is impossible that the truths should appear to us ; and although the truth in itself is clear and bright, and must forever remain so, yet through our folly the truth in us becomes dim and obscure ; yea, the light within becomes darkness.

Now the order to which our attention is to be drawn, is that which refers to the east, south and north quarters, as connected with the prophecy. The waters are said to issue from under the threshold of the house EASTWARD, and to come down from the right side of the house, at the SOUTH of the altar ; while the prophet, in order effect ually to behold these wonders, was brought out of the way of the gate NORTHWARD ! Keeping, then, in mind the order here named, as to the east, south and north quarters, which shall be explained as we proceed, we now return to inquire first into the true signification of the temple, or house of God, whence these waters flowed.

Who, in reading the Holy Scripture, does not at once perceive that by the temple, or house of God, so frequently mentioned therein, is meant the church of the Lord, both militant on earth and triumphant in the heavens. The true church of God is emphatically styled his house, because therein all the solemnities of a pure spiritual worship are celebrated. Here, persons of kindred minds, whose bosoms glow with love to God and each other ; whose understandings are enlightened with Truth Divine, and to whom heaven is opened, while each mind is receptive of its blessings, here in states of charity and peace, retired from the busy bustling scenes of worldly life, they offer up their united, their mingled breath of praise to Him whose love sustains them, whose providence provides, and whose power protects. Each one, in the delightful and free exercise of an unconstrained worship, would be filled with the marrow and fatness of the Lord s house, and would drink of the streams of his pleasures ; and each from the heart, as from a consecrated altar, would offer up the warm, the sincere aspirations of the soul. It is into this spiritual but no less real house of God whence sweetest perfumes rise, that the love and wisdom of God descend to enrich the worshippers, and the house is filled with his glory. Whether we speak of the church generally, as being composed of the myriads of happy beings who worship in sincerity and truth, or speak of it in its application to each person individually, it is still the same thing ; for the mind of every man in dividually, whose worship is sincere and true, who offers to the Father of his being, his best and supreme affections, as the first fruits of his moral land, is, in its least form, the church, the temple, and house of the Lord. It is here, at the rational faculty of the soul, whence all knowledge enters from the Lord, and issues therefrom it is here as from the door of the mind, the threshold of the house, whence these sacred waters flow. In their progress they impart life and health and blessing to every principle, faculty and power of the whole man from the secret springs of his existence, his hidden motives and thoughts, to the very circumference of his being, terminating in his most trifling act. For it is a pleasing truth, as stated in the eighth verse, that these waters issuing out toward the east country, go down into the desert, and go into the sea ; and it shall come to pass that everything shall live, whithersoever the waters shall come.

Who cannot see that this is a clear and certain description of the complete renovation of the whole man by the flow of these waters ? from the inmost of his being ; from his supreme love, whence the waters rise as from the east country, and from thence passing into the desert, they fertilize the moral plain, renewing the will and all its affections, as the ground in which the seeds of immortal truth are sown ; thus making the mind that was once a desert in respect to everything heavenly and divine, to rejoice and be glad for them, and to bud and blossom as the rose. These waters passing from the desert, "go into the sea," as into the outward boundaries of our existence, imparting a spiritual quality and truth to every kind of external knowledge and science of which the mind is possessed, rendering all these serviceable to the interests of a pure religion, and to the pro motion of our eternal interests. Everything must live where these waters come.

There can be no difficulty in ascertaining the true meaning of waters, rivers and fountains, so frequently mentioned in Scripture. These are called the waters of life, and the pure river that flows in the city of our God. What are those things which can renovate the mind of man, satisfy his intellectual thirst, and thus bring life and immortality to light, but the pure, the bright and unspotted truths and doctrines of Revelation, which eternally flow from the Lord of life? These spiritual truths, these Divine realities and blessings, water our mental plain every moment, are what are meant by waters, rivers and fountains, so frequently spoken of in the Word of God ; these are signified by the waters coming from the east country, and issuing thence from the threshold of the house.

With this knowledge before us of the signification of waters, with what beauty and rational conviction do those passages of Scripture where these terms occur, appear to our minds : " Ho ! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," is the language of the Lord by the prophet Isaiah, Iv. 1. Here to thirst, is ardently to desire the truth for its own sake, the object being to obtain knowledge, that the life of heaven may grow within. Whosoever does thus desire or thirst may come and drink of the water of life freely. "Come," is the Divine parental invitation " Come and buy " that is, " Come and procure for yourselves from the everlasting Fountain of salvation, those waters or truths, which will nourish the soul unto eternal life." We can give nothing to the Divine Being as an equivalent for these blessings ; all that is asked is, reception, gratitude and thankfulness of heart. Hence the language of this invitation is, " Come ye to the waters ; buy wine and milk without money and without price ! " Can we refuse this pathetic, this most merciful invitation? Can we still bend our minds down to the sensual corruptions of the world, while this invitation sounds in our ears ? and can we still, serpent like, crawl upon the belly and eat dust all the days of our life? Surely it cannot be so with us ; the voice of our heavenly Father must reach our hearts, and inspire us with better things, where He says, in the verse following this invitation : " Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread f and your labor for that which satisfieth not ? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." (Isa. Iv. 2.) To the same purpose is the language of the great Saviour the good Shepherd of the flock. He says :" If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (John vii. 37, 38.) "And the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

Now with respect to these waters, they are said to come from the east to enter at the fore-front of the house toward the east to flow or come down from the right side of the house at the south of the altar ; and that the prophet was brought out of the way of the gate northward, to behold the measuring and increase of the waters. It must be at once apparent to every reflecting mind, that as the waters denote the truths of Revelation, and the house the church of the Lord and mind of man, so the east, whence these waters issued, the south of the altar to which they flowed, and the north from whence the prophet was brought to behold the measuring of the waters, and the phenomena of their increase, must have reference to some certain states and condition of mind in which alone this miracle could be seen.

It is to be lamented that men, generally speaking, can be but rarely persuaded to think spiritually upon the Scriptures ; it is too much trouble ; they unthinkingly imagine that heavenly things are very remote, at a great distance off; that it is quite time enough yet to think of them, and that they shall have more time in a few years to devote to them ; never thinking for a moment that the same procrastinating principle which urges the delay now, will do the same then it is the thief of time the canker worm that destroys in us the golden fruits of true religion, and turns our brightest expectations to rottenness and dust. It is thus that we fritter away the spring, summer and autumn of human life, to die in lamentation in the winter ; we come to the end before sound reflection begins, and thus, like children in their sports, we have played with our pebbles and lost our treasure. Even those who make profession of religion, can hardly be brought to endure the trouble of thinking for themselves of inward meditation on the great doctrines of Christianity ! They seem to prefer a mysterious faith in incomprehensible theories, to the sound deductions of enlightened reason and truth. But unless we exercise our reason under the influence of Revelation, we must be content with the shadow instead of the substance of the Word of God. If we exercise reason under the influence of Revelation, we obey the command of God, where He says: " Come now and let us reason together ; " this reasoning will open the further wonders of this vision. In the Scriptures we frequently read of the four quarters, the east, west, north and south ; they are always mentioned to denote states of the mind and life ; and if, according to the rule laid down by the apostle, we were to attend to the operations of nature, the invisible things of God and heaven might be clearly seen, because they would be understood by the things that are made.


In nature, the east is the quarter where the sun rises with its heat and light to bless, to enlighten and warm the earth ; the south is where the light is in its greatest splendor and brightness ; the west is where the sun sets, when we feel a diminution of its rays ; while the north is the quarter where the light terminates in obscurity and shade. In a religious sense the Lord himself is the east, whose countenance as the nn shining in its strength, is everlastingly rising upon the families of mankind. The heat of this sun is his changeless love, the light is his eternal wisdom. All who are principled in an ardent state of love to Him, are called sons of the light, children of the day-spring from on high, and wise men of the east. To these the star in the east will appear ; the bright morning star, or knowledge from love, will never fail to go before them to guide their steps and lead them to the Lord God the Saviour ; it will stand over where the Lord is. These are the wise men who, opening their treasures, will present to the Lord gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh all the celestial, spiritual and natural goodness which they have derived from Him, and which they cheer fully offer, and dedicate to his service.

In nature, all light comes from the sun ; in religion, all spiritual truth, which is heavenly light, comes direct from the Lord, as the Sun of righteousness. Hence these waters, by which are meant the truths of Revelation, flowing onward to bless the house of God, are said to come from the EAST. These coming from the east are said to flow to the SOUTH of the altar, beqause, as in nature, the south is the quarter in which light is in its power and splendor, so the south, in a religious sense, is that advanced state of the understanding in which the divine truth is seen in its spiritual power and brightness ; the altar denoting worship in connection with such elevation of mind.

All who are sincere in their religious professions and devotions, whatever be their mental condition respectively, are accepted by the Lord, whether they be principled in a most ardent love to the Lord denoted by the east, or in a love less ardent denoted by the west, where the sun begins to fade from our sight : whether they are in states of high intellectual brightness signified by the south, or in those of comparative obscurity and shade represented by the north ; still, whatever their condition may be, they are filled with that fulness of joy which their states respectively are capable of receiving. Each in the language of Revelation has his measure filled, the good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over. Thus the Lord gathers together his elect from the four winds, from the east, the west, the north and the south, to sit down in the tranquil abodes of his kingdom.

We can have no knowledge of the real quality or spiritual sense of Divine Truth in its glory, nor see how it operates within by its nutritious powers, and how it applies to all the successive states in the regenerate life, unless we are brought out of our mental obscurity. As we can have no knowledge of the beauties of any science withoutpenetrating into its secrets, so neither can we have any view of the depth of these living waters, while we dwell upon the surface of mere literal truth. We must come out of darkness before the light can be seen ; and this will explain to us the reason why the prophet was brought out of the way of the gate NORTHWARD, in order to behold the waters at the SOUTH of the altar. In Ezek. xlvi. 9, speaking of worshipping in the temple, it is said, " he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship, shall go out by the way of the south gate ; " and some may be so extremely literal in their views, as to suppose that this can only allude to some custom of the Jews of going in at one gate and out at the other : but something of a higher import than this is meant ; for this, literally, to us is of no value at all. It teaches that the man who enters in at the north gate, who commences his worship and religious life in the mere shade and ignorance of truth, will, if he be faithful in his worship, increase in spiritual intelligence and wisdom as he journeys in his onward and upward road ; he will go on journeying like the patriarch towards the south ; his intelligence and wisdom will increase within ; what was at first dark and obscure will become bright and shining ; and though he came in at the north, he will go out by the way of the south. This man will not stand still in the Divine life ; truth and wisdom will increase in him. He will not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in.

Now it is at the south of the altar where these waters are measured to ascertain their depth ; and upon the first measuring they were shallow, merely to the ankles. To measure, literally, is to ascertain quantity, or length and breadth of the thing measured ; but spiritually, to measure, as used in Scripture, is to explore to meditate and investigate the qualities or states of life. Hence, in Rev. xi. 1, it is said, " Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein ; " denoting exploration into the quality of faith and life, as well as the states of those who worship. Here, however, the waters of the sanctuary are measured the truths of Revelation, these living waters of life, are explored as to their true depth, their quality, sanctity and divinity. Upon the first measuring, they were only to the ankles ; they are seen at first but as shallow waters, relating only to the external life and outward actions, as being denoted by the feet and ankles, the lowest parts of the body ; but upon the second measuring, the waters are discovered to be deeper ; they come up to the knees, showing that they contain higher degrees of knowledge than those which apply to the merely outward life, and that they enter into our motives and intentions. Upon the third measuring, the waters still increase they are now to the loins ; showing that the intelligence of the spiritual man is still deeper, and that it relates to the conjunction of -all that is divinely good and true in the soul, which is shown by the waters rising to the LOINS, or middle of the body. But the fourth measuring this perfect exploration, shows the true quality and divinity of these living waters : they are waters to swim in, the river is impassable; teaching us by this last exploration, that the truths of Revelation are infinite, and that they unfold all the celestial states of life and thought, both of angels and men. Surely, then, the truths of Revelation may justly be called the waters of life : they contain all the law and will of God to man. Knowing their value and worth, may we not take up the language of the Psalmist, and say : " O how I love thy law ; it is my meditation all the day "?

The Lord has certainly magnified his Word above all his name. Surely, then, the Word of God is spirit and life throughout, and ought to be interpreted after a spiritual manner. The ministers of Christ, as masters in Israel, whose duty it is to dispense religious instruction to the people, should reflect upon the great responsibility of their sacred calling. They should be active and diligent in their heavenly work they should penetrate the interior recesses of Wisdom's page, and thus be like " the scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, who bringeth out of his treasure things new and old." (Matt. xiii. 52.) They should not be like the Jewish lawyers, the expounders of the Divine law, who made everything subservient to their selfish and worldly-mindedness. Their love of the world made religion to consist in ceremonies and traditions ; they devoured widows' houses while they, for a pretence, made long prayers ; they lost all relish for spiritual things, and with it the true key of Scripture in terpretation, which led the Lord of heaven to say to them : " Woe unto you, lawyers ! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge."
(Luke xi. 52.)

Nature and Design of Miracles.

By the law of correspondence, the Book of Life, which without it is sealed with seven seals, becomes opened, and the secrets of the Lord are revealed to those who fear Him. By this, the true spiritual nature and design of all the miracles and parables recorded in Scripture are of easy solution. We will select two by way of proof; one from the Old Testament, the other from the New.

Respecting the first miracle, we read that the prophet Elisha, upon his return to Gilgal, found that there was a dearth in the land. While the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said unto his servant, " set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred- them info the pot of pottage : for they knew them not. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot ! and they could not eat. But he said, Then bring meal ; and he cast it into the pot ; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot." (2 Kings iv. 38-41.)

This miracle consists in changing the deleterious quality of the food, and thus making it harmless, by throwing in meal or fine flour ; and there will be but little difficulty in drawing out the spiritual instruction, if we transfer our thoughts from the food which nourishes the animal life, to that which is necessary to the sustenance of the soul of man. In Scripture the food which, literally, is applicable to the body, is mentioned spiritually to represent that which when taken into the system, nourishes mental existence, and promotes growth in the Divine life. All the good that cometh down from God out of heaven, is, in the language of Scripture, expressed by food generally. It is called the bread of life, the bread of God, the body and flesh of the Lord, marrow and fatness, and the meat which perisheth not ; while Divine Truth, ever descending from the same source for our growth in wisdom, is called by the names of various liquids corresponding exactly to our mode and manner of receiving it. Thus it is called the water of life, as also milk, wine and strong drink. Truth in the Christian s first reception thereof, is applied to the regulation of the outward life and conduct. In this reception it is the purifying or cleansing waters ; but when received in a higher ground, so as to afford the first degree of internal nourishment, it is called milk, as being adapted to the first, or infant state of the Christian life. When received in a still higher degree, so as to be rationally perceived, giving vigor to the understanding and opening every power thereof to the clear knowledge of spiritual truth, thus forming the kingdom of heaven in the soul, it is then called wine ; but when received in the highest degree of ardent intense affection, it is called strong drink, and wine on the lees. (Isa. xxv. 6.) It is thus named from the fact, that the truth so received, imparts exhilarating pleas ure, strength and power to the natural mind.

In regard to this miracle, we learn first, that there was a dearth in the land. This, in a natural point of view, is a defect or scarcity of food. At such times hunger and distress prevail, the inhabitants become emaciated, and many die of actual starvation. Transfer, then, this condition as applicable to the bodily life, to that of the soul the immortal man, and this dearth will then be seen to denote a defect in the reception of heavenly food in the land or church. With regard to the food itself, there is no defect or dearth ; for the Lord has bountifully supplied it ; our table is still spread our cup runneth over. Whether we acknowledge it or not, it is nevertheless certain that the Divine goodness and mercy have followed us all the days of our lives. But there is a dearth, or defect in our reception of these : this is the dearth of which the Scriptures spiritually speak, and of which they so often lament. The Lord says by the prophet : " Behold the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land ; not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of HEARING the words of the Lord." (Amos viii. 11.) Here there is no defect or scarcity of bread and water of the good and truth of heaven ; but there is in the reception of these a dearth or famine, consisting in not hearing the words of the Lord. There is no thirst after the truth no hearing, or real obedience of life. That this is the true meaning of a famine is plain from this passage in the Psalms, where speaking of the really good, it is said : " They shall not be ashamed in the evil time ; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied "(xxxvii. 19). May we not say, in reference to every spiritual Christian who desires most ardently the bread and water of life the good and truth of heaven, that, while the world ling makes a total rejection of, and pays a disregard to, the very food of heaven, he enjoys his rich feast ? is satisfied with the fatness of the Lord s house, and drinks of the streams of his pleasure? I do not believe that a single individual can be found, who is thus spiritually minded, that would relinquish his heavenly food, together with the true pleasure it yields, for all that the world could give him in exchange.

The dearth was said to be in Gilgal. This place was within the boundaries of Canaan, and stood between Jericho and the banks of the Jordan. It was the place where the Israelites made their first encampment after crossing the river. Now, inasmuch as the whole of Canaan is representative of the Lord s church or kingdom, Gilgal, being on the border of the land, denotes the external of the church, and, as it were, the commencement of it in man. Here, at Gilgal, the mess of pottage was prepared ; and here, in reference to state, or the beginning of the spiritual life, man receives his first instruction his first food his mess of pottage. The doctrine of natural truth, such as is apparent in the literal sense of the Word, serves to introduce the mind into higher degrees of purity and wisdom. This first knowledge is here represented by Gilgal, the place at which the Israelites first encamped, and through which they passed to the interior of the land. All knowledge, whether religious, philosophical or scientific, is progressive ; it is gained, not all at once, but by " line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little." (Isa. xxviii. 10.) We commence, as it were, in the outer border of Wisdom's land, in the mere rudiments of natural truth ; and by passing through these, we come into possession of those higher degrees of intelligence, which open to the soul a view of the interior riches of Revelation, and which are only found in the centre of the land. But what if at this Gilgal, at the very threshold of the church, where we receive our first instruction in doctrine and life, where is prepared our first meal ; what, if it should be discovered here, that the food pre pared for our repast, instead of being nutritiously good, is injurious and unwholesome? that upon tasting thereof, its quality be found detrimental to the spiritual life, as well as destructive to our growth in true religion ? What if this discovery should lead to the exclamation which was made by the sons of the prophets while they were eating, " O thou man of God, there is death in the pot"? In this case, nothing can be done to render the food eatable, but by throwing in meal or fine flour. After this had been done, it is said, " there was no harm in the pot."

To see clearly the spiritual instruction contained in this extraordinary miracle, we should know what it was that caused this death ; what is meant by the pot itself, and what by the food it contained. The cause of this death we learn from verse 39 ; for, after the prophet had commanded his servant to seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets, it is said that one went out into the field and gathered wild gourds from a wild vine, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage ; for they knew them not ; that is, they knew not their quality. These wild gourds, then, gathered from a wild, and not from the true Vine, were the real cause of there being death in the pot.

The general doctrine of the church, which declares the existence of a God, and that a life according to his commandments is essential to future peace, is here denoted by the pot or vessel, and all the singulars and particulars of faith, life and practice, when mingled together, become the spiritual food of man, and is here signified by the pottage prepared in the vessel. The prophet Elisha gave no command to gather wild gourds from a spurious or wild vine ; this was done in ignorance; they knew them not. Christ, as the Lord God the Saviour, is the true vine, and all the doctrines, truths and purities of life, which originate in and spring from Him, are the wholesome fruits from the Living Vine ; these become the proper food of man : they contain, not death in the pot, but life and everlasting peace.

The Word of God as the great containing vessel, has within itself everything essentially necessary to promote the growth of heavenly love and wisdom in the soul of man. All that is spiritually good and true, delightful to the eyes and good for food, are contained in this grand vessel, the Word of Revelation ; we have no need to go out, and gather spurious food from some foreign source the wild gourds from a wild vine, to mingle with the food of heaven ; or, to collect the false persuasions, doctrines and wild human inventions, to mix with the interior truths of Revelation ; for if this be done, the effect will be unavoidable ; death will be introduced into the pot, and the food rendered unclean. If Divine instruction, as food, is to be dispensed to the people, it must be prepared within the sacred vessel, and extracted solely therefrom.

The pure doctrines of heaven as contained in the Word of Truth, teach that there is one true and everlasting God, the only Source of life, the Author and Giver of all the blessings enjoyed both by angels and men. This is the first great truth of all pure religion ; it is the keystone of Christianity, the strength and support of all our hopes. These doctrines teach also that God is strictly One in essence and person a single Divine Being, and that He is the Lord God the Saviour, in whom all fulness dwells, His essential Love is called Father ; his Wisdom or Truth, the Son ; and his Operative Influence, the Holy Spirit one God, in whom all fulness dwells, whence issue those everlasting blessings to his creation, which fill heaven with wonder and the earth with praise. These doctrines again teach that God is good to all, that He is immutable and impartial, that his wisdom is infinite his love unbounded and free. He has created all, redeemed all, He loves all, and with parental tenderness calls all to accept of life and salvation. If any man perish, it is not because God has left him, or abandoned him to his fate without help and without pity ; his own iniquity separates him from God, and his sins hide from his view the clemency which everlastingly beams from his Father's face. If he perish, it is because he loves evil and not good ; he prefers darkness to light, and the sordid gratifications of sense to the refined pleasures of heaven. If, through folly, or a corrupt system of teaching, which always suits a mind inclined to depravity, he should endeavor to charge his misery upon the Divine Being, the voice of Truth will stifle his complaint. Did he never read or hear these words ? " As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; but that the wicked turn from his way and live : turn ye, turn ye from your evil way ; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" (Ezek. xxxiii. 11.) We are also taught that man is an immortal being, and that bodily death is the appointed gate of life, through which the man is ushered into a real world, where life is continued amidst eternally increasing joys. At this important period, man experiences a resurrection either to joy or shame, according to his past life.

These doctrines, and many others equally valuable, are taught in the Word of Inspiration : they make up the proper religious food of the human race ; with this should every one be fed at Gilgal, or upon his first entrance into the church. But, instead of this being the case, we have quite another theory. One God is indeed acknowledged with the lips, but this is completely neutralized by the unmeaning creed that follows. It is taught, as though it were all Gospel, that there are three Divine persons in God, each of whom is by himself distinctly God and Lord ; but this nevertheless is declared to be an in comprehensible mystery. It certainly is a mystery, and never can be understood because it is an untruth. Falsehood is wofully mysterious ; truth is simple and clear. To this fundamental error is added, the doctrines of absolute predestination to death of the many, partial election of the few to life and peace; faith alone justifying, the appeasing of wrath in one Divine Person by the sufferings and death of another, heaven purchased for the elect, while the non-elect are brought into being that they may endure eternal pain for the glory of God!

Of these pernicious theories the Scriptures know nothing. Do you ask, reader, how we then came by them ? The answer is ready : they are the wild gourds gathered from without from the wild vine ; they have been ignorantly shred into the mess of pottage, spoiled the wholesonieness of the food, and introduced death into the pot instead of life. To destroy their sad effects, Elisha threw in the meal or fine flour, to -teach us that when the pure truth of goodness, signified by the fine flour, is thrown in, all that is false and injurious is then dissipated, and the food becomes harmless.

A Further Test of the Value of Correspondence.

The other miracle which we shall select from the Gospels, in further corroboration of the value of that mode of Scripture interpretation for \vhich we contend, is that of restoring sight to the man born blind. This miracle is recorded in the ninth chapter of John, and certainly the means used in the restoration of sight are both singular and remarkable. It is said that Jesus "spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which is, by interpretation, sent). He went his way, therefore, and washed, and came seeing." (John ix. 6, 7.) The infidel who, in theology, displays more of sarcastic wit than of sound sense, would be led to smile at this miracle, and perhaps to call it a silly narrative. He might say, if Jesus Christ possessed all power in heaven and earth, why not speak the word at once, and thus give sight to the blind, without this process of anointing the eyes with clay, and commanding the man to go and wash in a pool ? To such persons we would say, that in matters of spiritual religion (and there is no other religion), they " do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God." (Matt. xxii. 29.) The miracle is not recorded, merely to show the power of the Lord in restoring natural sight to one individual : but it is beautifully descriptive of the process by which the Lord restores all men who are obedient to his commands, to that spiritual sight which gives a clear perception of the vast realities of eternity.

To have a right knowledge of this miracle, every part must be care fully noticed. We should know what is spiritually meant by being born blind, what by the clay, the pool of Siloam, and washing therein. In a spiritual sense every man is born blind, that is, destitute of knowledge and science. He comes into the w7orld feeble and altogether helpless ; more imperfect and ignorant than any of the animal creation ; but however paradoxical it may seem, this apparent imperfection of mail at his birth, is his true perfection. It is impossible to look upon man and contemplate his astonishing energies of mind, without being struck with the fact, that there is some power inherent in his constitution which is not to be discovered even in the most sagacious animals. These come into their existence with full possession of all the science and knowledge necessary to their life, above which they never do or can rise. This, their perfection, in reference to man, is their imperfection. Man, on the contrary, is born without any science or knowledge whatever ; in utter ignorance, without any connate or innate ideas, and thus blind : but this imperfection at his birth, in reference to animals, is his great perfection ; for in early life we find the mind, as a celestial sprout, beginning to put itself forth ; it is indeed at first but tender and weak, and, as it were, folded up like an unopened bud ; but it soon begins by little and little to open. This expansion exhibits one beauty after another in succession the powers of mind become progressively developed, so that the arcana of nature are, explored with wonder and delight. The mind of man, which in infancy appeared like a closed germ or bud, presently be comes an opening blossom, exhibiting all that mental richness, beauty and strength which we observe in the mature age of a wise, good and intelligent man.

The human subject, though born blind, i.e. without any science or knowledge, soon outstrips the perfection peculiar to animals. Their highest excellence soon becomes his footstool ; for the inferior animals stop where man begins. The powers of the human mind are truly astonishing ; but at this we shall not be surprised when we reflect that Revelation has assured us that man is an image and likeness of his Maker. How soon do we find an intelligent man who but a few years previous was blind as it respects all science and knowledge, become quite familiar and conversant with the wonders of nature ! He presses nature close ; while she, in return for his industry, rewards his diligence by telling him all her secrets. To this first kind of knowledge the animals never arrive; but even here man makes no stand. He rises above the world in which he dwells, and soars with wonderful facility to other worlds in the universe ; he calculates the magnitude of the sun, moon and stars ; describes the relative distances of the planets, with their size and density the time of their respective revolutions round the sun ; foretells eclipses and the return of comets; shows the velocity with which light travels; the peculiar formation and constitution of different bodies which receive and reflect solar light, so as to produce the phenomena of colors in rich and beautiful variety. But even here man stops not. This image and likeness of God, thirsts after his great prototype, and ascends, by his powers of mind, to the very throne of the Almighty, and with awe and reverence contemplates his Creator, the Author of his life the Giver of all his blessings.

In respect to celestial knowledge, man, in the infancy of his intellectual being, is blind ; and Jesus (or the Divine Truth in which love is present) in passing by, recognizes the state. Now the first thing necessary to open the understanding, the eye of the soul, to a sight of Divine realities, is to unite the external truths of Revelation with moral goodness and pliability of heart. The truths of the literal sense of the Word, when mingled with that moral goodness peculiar to a well-disposed mind, will greatly assist, when reduced to practical life, in opening the blind eyes to a perception of heavenly realities. This union of the outward truth with its corresponding goodness of life, is described in the miracle by the clay with which the Lord anointed the eyes of the blind man ; and if, after this process, AVC obey the Divine command, and go and wash in the pool of Siloam, which is, by interpretation, SENT ; there can be no doubt but that we shall joyfully return in the full possession of sight.

The pool of Siloam is still with us, and its cleansing virtues, its miraculous properties, are as fresh, as vigorous, and as young as ever. The Word of Divine Revelation, which contains the waters of life, at once nutritious and cleansing, is the pool of Siloam, and the sent of God. To go and wash in this pool, denotes the willingness with which we apply all its truths to the purification of the understanding, that so we may feel their cleansing virtue within, and see clearly the way to life, to happiness and heaven. If any man Avishes to be relieved from mental blindness, and hides the things of God and heaven from his view, the only cure for this malady is to unite the most simple truths of Revelation with natural goodness of heart, and then to live as these truths direct : he Avill then be found acting in obedience to the Divine command. His eyes have been anointed with the clay ; he has gone to the pool of Siloam ; he has washed there, and has returned SEEING !

The great value of correspondence in leading to a correct interpretation of Scripture, will be further manifest by shoAving that true religion will always be found in perfect harmony Avith every true discovery that has been or ever shall be made, either in philosophy or science. There is not the least discrepancy between the true doctrines of religion and those of science. If both are true, they are perfectly harmonious ; for truth in all cases is immutable and certain. If there should be discord or opposition between them, there is something wrong somewhere ; either the doctrines of religion, by a false interpretation, are made untrue ; or if not, the science is untrue, and will not admit of experimental proof; for if both are true, they must harmonize and mutually support each other.

The doctrines of true religion have nothing to fear, but everything to hope for and expect from the march of science. The morning light of science is hailed as a real blessing ! It is viewred as one of the most powerful auxiliaries to religion ; and one that will assist in scattering to the moles and to the bats those false doctrines with which the church has been too long pestered. In what is called the dark ages of bigotry and ignorance (which always go together), the religious world opposed most decidedly every new discovery of scientific truth, if such discovered the established creeds to be false. A holy war was raised against the new-born discovery ; and the cry of " the church in danger," was sufficient to excite popular clamor. The truth is that the church was in no danger, but the creeds were. It is a poor church that is endangered by the march of science ; it is of but little consequence whether such a church live or die.

The advocates of Christianity will do more real good in proving its truth by fair indisputable and rational argument, than they ever have done or can do by making laws for its defence, and punishing those who attempt to sap or destroy the sacred edifice. To inflict punishment for supposed offences committed against religion, is to say, in other words, that religion itself is defective and weak ; that it has no means of proving the force of its own doctrines, and that therefore it is expedient to call in the aid of human laws for its defence. The Christian religion wants nothing of this kind. All human laws are so many pests and hindrances to its prosperity and growth. Christianity, like the glorious orb of day, shines not with any borrowed lustre ; its light is in itself, and its truths for the general good are scattered far and wide. It travels in its own strength, shedding around, in its progress, those benign influences which will enlighten, warm and bless all who come within their sphere. Its line is gone out through all the earth ; and the time will must come when there shall be neither speech nor language where the voice of Christianity is not heard.

Every religion must ultimately stand by its own native power, or fall by its own weakness. If true, its roots will strike deeper and wider in the minds of men, as their understandings advance in knowledge and wisdom ; if false, no human laws can possibly prevent its overthrow and desolation. The Christian Revelation as contained in the Bible, is a most powerful and solemn appeal to our reason, and can offer no violence to it in any way whatever ; and it may safely be depended on as a truth, that any religion which requires us, in the great business of faith or life, to lay aside our reason and take up with a belief in unintelligible mysteries, is false and spurious. Such a system of theology stoops to this mean artifice in order the more effectually to perpetuate its unworthy existence.

Signification of the Tribute-Money found in the Fish's Mouth.

Religion and science act together something like cause and effect ; what the former states, the latter proves. Religious truth is as the Lord and Master, while all the sciences are servants. Every science, like the fish mentioned in the Gospel, has within itself its own tribute money, and whenever it is demanded, will cheerfully render it up to promote the spiritual interests of the church of God. When Christ asked Peter," What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute ? of their own children or of strangers ? "Peter replied," of strangers :" "then," saith the Lord, " are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take of the fish that first cometh up ; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money : that take and give unto them for me and thee." (Matt. xvii. 25-27.)

Nothing but the immutable law of correspondence can unfold the religious instruction contained in this singular miracle. It was a practice with the Israelites, as appears from the historical parts of the Word, to take custom or tribute from strangers who were not of their church. Those who are the true members of the Lord's body or church, are the spiritual and heavenly minded ; they are the free, and the children of the kingdom ; while the strangers signify those who are merely naturally-minded and worldly. In respect to man, individually, we know that the higher affections and thoughts of the mind, which connect him with God and heaven, are called spiritual ; and the lower, which connect him with the world, are called natural. The spiritual mind is the Lord and Master, the natural is a servant and tributary. In every well-regulated mind, the supreme affections and thoughts provide comforts and pleasures for the lower, while these in return pay the tribute, are obedient to, and serve the higher. To instruct us, then, in this universal law, it was provided and effected that neither the Lord nor Peter should pay the tribute, but a, fish, by which is signified the living scientific knowledge in the external or natural mind.

To show what it is that willingly serves the interests of true religion by providing the tribute-money, Peter was commanded to go to the sea, to cast a hook, to take the fish that first cometh up ; and that he would find, upon opening his mouth, a piece of money, with which he was to pay the tribute. If the Lord's words are spirit and life (and no Christian can doubt it), we ought to receive them as such, and look at them as sacred vessels containing the wisdom of the Most High. Those who skim lightly over the pages of sacred writ, may probably be surprised at the tribute-money being found in the fish s mouth, not reflecting that it is always found there. It was there at " the begin ning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end."

In respect to this tribute, Peter was the apostle who was to procure it. He received the Divine command, " Go thou to the sea and cast a hook." Peter was the apostle who was first called, he was a fisherman, and by following the Lord he was to be made a fisher of men. This apostle, in his representative character, denotes all those who are grounded in a settled faith or confidence in all the Lord s promises. They are not doubters of, but believers in, the truths of Revelation. This principle of faith in the Lord, in his divinity and power, is called the rock upon which the Lord would build his church. Spiritual faith in the Lord, in his providence and care, in the universality of his love, in his compassion and unchanging goodness, united with obedience of life, opens heaven to the soul. Hence to Peter as the representative of this living faith, the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given. The power of this faith, signified by the keys, when rightly exercised both in thought and life, opens, as a key does a door, the heavenly state in the soul, and introduces the man into the full enjoyment of angelic bliss. Whatsoever this faith binds on earth, by showing its entire opposition to the angelic state, is bound in heaven, that is, comes not into spiritual liberty and peace. Whatsoever this faith shall loose on earth, by showing its conformity with the heavenly life, shall be loosed in heaven shall come into the full liberty and exercise of the Divine life. This spiritual faith represented by Peter, brings man into perfect liberty of mind. Those who are principled therein, are, in matters of religion, free ; for the blessings of those truths which bring life and immortality to light, they are not tributary to any earthly power. In these things they owe no allegiance but to the Lord alone : Peter, therefore, could not pay the tribute without violating the Divine arrangement of spiritual truth. If tribute be required, the command is still in force, " Go to the sea and cast a hook."

In a former part of this work we showed that the several portions of the world of nature, such as mountains, hills, rivers, seas, and the like, are, in Scripture, mentioned in reference to man as the world of mind. By the sea, according to correspondence, is meant divine truth in its extremes or terminations, and which is properly termed natural truth ; for as the sea is the boundary of the land, so natural truth is the extreme boundary of human knowledge. In this mighty deep are contained all the principles of scientific truth, which are, by the same law of correspondence, the fishes of the sea, and by which man keeps his connection with the world and its objects. In Scripture, not only the sun, moon and stars, the beasts of the earth, creeping things and flying fowl, with storms, vapors and clouds, but even the fishes of the sea are called upon to praise the Lord. I heard, says John the Revelator, every creature that was in the sea, praising the Lord, and saying, " Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." (Rev. v. 13.) Now all these do constantly praise the Lord ; for every true science within the wide range of human knowledge, will be found to contain its meed of praise, and by paying the tribute, to own religion as its master and lord.

We may, perhaps, think that there can be not the slightest con nection between science and religion that these subjects are perfectly distinct, having no mutual relationship whatever : but this arises from our ignorance from our unwillingness to obey the Divine command given to Peter ; " Go to the sea and cast a hook," go and investigate the interior principles of science, and every one of them will be found to contain within itself the tribute which it owes to spiritual religion, and which it cheerfully renders up. The Lord said to Peter, " take up the fish that first cometh up, and thou shalt find a piece of money." that is, not any particular fish, but any one, the first that comes up ; to instruct us that every science, no matter what, contains its own tribute, which it pays at the shrine of religion. Every fish when its mouth is opened, or when the interior principles of science are explored by Peter, or by those grounded in a pure faith, will be found to contain the tribute-money. When this is discovered and demanded for the interests- of true religion, it is instantly yielded up.

All the SCIENCES which describe the wisdom of God, as made apparent in the harmonies of nature, and in all her wonder-working combinations, progressions and changes, are, in Scripture language, signified by the FISHES of the sea. These sciences, when internally explored, will be found to contain infallible proofs of the existence of a Supreme Being, pointing, at the same time, to the spirituality and superiority of religion, which they constantly serve, and to which they are tributaries. What is this but proving the truth of what John the Revelator asserts, that he heard the fishes of the sea giving praise to God and saying," Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever " ?

The science of Astronomy, Chemistry, Geology, Phrenology, Optics, Botany, and every true science, acknowledges true religion as Lord and Master, and pays the tribute. Let us ex amine two or three of these spiritual fishes of the sea with respect to the testimony they give of religion. Religion teaches the worship of one God, who, as the central Sun of righteousness, diffuses his love and wisdom without partiality to all his creation, and that He is good, universally good to all, inasmuch as " He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good." (Matt. v. 45.) Astronomy teaches that there is one sun in the centre of its system, diffusing light and heat, without partiality, to all the planets revolving round, for their nourishment and support. Here astronomy, like the fish, yields up the tribute-money, serving obediently the interests of religion, by showing how the " invisible things of God are seen by the things that are made."

Religion teaches that the mind of man, in the process of regeneration by which alone he is purified and made fit for heaven, passes successive changes of state, by which means, as to affection and thought, a separation is made of what is earthly and gross, from that which is heavenly. This change or purification is effected by the operation of the love of God in man's will and intellect, which love in the corresponding language of Scripture, is called fire. The science of chemistry, which has been properly termed " Fire Science," because the action of fire or heat enters into all the parts of chemical study, treats on a small scale of the changes effected by heat in natural bodies, and of the general laws relating to the composition and decomposition of substances. It is in allusion to the Lord of heaven being the only Regenerator of the minds of men, that He is said to " sit as a refiner and purifier of silver : and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." (Mai. iii. 3.) This passage describes, spiritually, the Lord s constant presence with man, together with his watchful care over him, while passing through his regenerating process. When the Lord s image is reflected from the person in whom the process is going on, the work is accomplished the heavenly state is gained. Here the Lord s care is said to be like that of a purifier of silver. Science illustrates this spiritual truth ; for I am informed that the refiner of silver sits with his eye steadily fixed upon the furnace to prevent injury being done to the metal by exceeding the proper time of refining. The refiner knows when the purifying time is completed by seeing his own image reflected from the silver.

Connection of Religion and Science.

Religion teaches that the Scriptures speak of man as a LITTLE WORLD ; and that he has a vast variety of affections, desires, thoughts, and principles of action ; some high, lofty, elevated and aspiring, which relate to his religious life ; others of a lower order, which regard his moral life ; and a third class the lowest, which relate to his civil or worldly life ; that human nature in its progress to spiritual perfection, like the globe in its revolutions passes through successive changes of state as to affection and thought ; thus that man, as to his mental constitution, contains within himself the evidences of these changes, and that he has impressed on the mind the remnants or remains of a primitive condition, corresponding to the early formations of the crystalline rocks, depositions and fossil remains, which indicate a primitive order of the globe. Scripture speaks of man as being, by the Almighty, both fearfully and wonderfully made." This statement is proved not only by his astonishing mental capabilities, but also by the marvelous construction of his organic frame. All the astonishing wonders in man s creation are declared to be the work of an Almighty Creator, who in the beginning made heaven and earth and all that is in them, who in due time created man in his image and likeness, to have the full dominion over the beasts, birds and creeping things. Geology is a science which undertakes to explain the internal and external structure of the earth ; and from the laborious investigations ofthose master minds in science, we may hope to gain some rational theory respecting its formation. This science proves, and we think satisfactorily, the great antiquity of the earth, and so far is it from opposing religion, that it pays to it a tribute. It traces, by rigid examinations of the earth s rocks, strata, fossil remains and depositions, all creation up to the great First Cause, who in the beginning was its Former and Maker, and to whom all praise is due. It does not, it is true, give us any date as to time, when the beginning was. This is omitted for the best of reasons, because Kevelation makes no (statement of time, therefore geology can prove Hone. Go on, then, Geology, thou industrious little fish ! swim about in the mighty deep you inhabit, and bring us more knowledge still about the world in which we dwell. Religion calls upon you to do this, that you may pay your tribute at her sacred shine.

Religion teaches that man is a spiritual and an immortal being ; that at the dissolution of his material body he will experience a resurrection to another world, either of bliss or degradation according to the quality of that life, as to evil or good, which he has formed for himself in this. Hence the Scriptures speak of two kinds of resurrection ; the one to life, the other to condemnation. The true Christian, at his resurrection, enters a world perfect and real, where evils and sorrows are forever shut out, and where health is everlasting, and the mirth of the high spirit hath undying life. The ground of man s immortality is in the rich gift which he has received from his Maker, of the two faculties of will and understanding. Into these the Divine life of love and that of wisdom flow. They are called in Genesis the breath of lives (plural) which God breathed into his nostrils, by which man became a living soul. This is the ground of our immortality, and it explains these words of the Lord to his disciples, " Because I live, ye shall live also." (John xiv. 19.) Man, therefore, is so constructed that, by his mental powers and bodily organization, he can hold commerce with two worlds. By his powers of mind, he holds connection with the spiritual or heavenly world, and by means of his organized body, with the world of matter. There must then be, as already stated, a close corresponding connection between the mental powers and all parts of that organic structure of body, by which they are developed and exhibited in nature ; each mental powrer having, in the material body, its own organ, by which it is brought forth and known as a real existence. PHRENOLOGY is a science which, though young and, like all new theories, has at present to struggle with principalities and powers, and with deep-rooted prejudices in high places is nevertheless one that promises fair to yield vast pleasures to the reflecting mind. It has, by the most patient examinations of the human brain, of its form, organization and development, proved it to be the material instrument by which man carries on a constant intercourse with the external world that it is an aggregate of parts, and that each has its own proper function which consists in manifesting outwardly some distinct power of mind. These parts, which are called organs, are about thirty-five in number, and are divided into two classes or orders the first called FEELINGS, or Affective Faculties, and belong to the will ; the second, INTELLECTUAL, or Perceptive Faculties, and belong to the understanding.

Whatever, then, may be urged against this new science, and however it may be checked in its infancy or impeded in its growth to manhood ; however numerous its imperfections in some points may now be ; yet, inasmuch as it is founded upon a just philosophy of mind, there can be no doubt of its truth in the main. It will certainly be found to be a living fish, and if its mouth be opened, or its internal principles examined by Peter, or by those capable of doing it, the tribute-money will be found therein ; for it proves the existence of a Supreme Being, all-wise and good ; and has placed in the highest part of man s intellectual being, what is called the organ of veneration, which, being seated in the centre of the moral sentiments, when enlightened and influenced by the intellectual, will be exercised rationally in the worship and praise of God.

RELIGION teaches that Divine truth, as light from the Sun of righteousness, comes directly from its source in God, and enters the mind of man, by whom it becomes refracted and applied to his own state and wants; but through whom it can never pass to another person with the same degree of illumination. The presence of this intellectual light is instantly recognized by the formation of conscience, and in the Bower of distinguishing right from wrong.

The science of OPTICS, among a vast variety of other curious things, teaches that the rays of solar light are emitted from the sun in direct or straight lines, but that every ray becomes bent or refracted as it passes through any transparent object to illuminate another ; thus receiving variation and change in passing through one to the other, and not imparting the same degree of brightness, or correctness of light, to the second object as to the first. The presence of this light is instantly recognized by its revealing the form and color of objects. Religion teaches that every man grows in purity, wisdom and happiness, in the same proportion as his mind is unvaryingly turned to the Lord as the true and everlasting Sun of righteousness, so as to live and flourish under his influence ; and it also teaches that man, by his creation, is gifted with the power thus to turn.

BOTANY treats of the internal and external structure, of the functions, of the organs, and of the similitudes and dissimilitudes of the almost infinite multitude of the objects in the vegetable kingdom ; and shows that solar light and heat are essential to the life and growth of all her forms ; that vegetables have a tendency in themselves to turn to the sun, that they may thereby grow and produce their fruits; and that if by any foreign force they are deprived of this their in herent tendency, they soon wither and die. Learn then, reader, an instructive lesson from these words of the Saviour : " Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin." (Matt. vi. 28.) How do the lilies grow ? By the tendency they have to turn to the sun, and to receive the fulness of his rays. Man, spiritually, grows in the same way ; were he constantly to turn to the Sun of righteousness, he would grow in virtue, wisdom and true religion, and that, too, without any labor without toiling or spinning.

Religion teaches that each person, upon receiving love and wisdom from God, applies them to his own purposes, and produces those fruits of life according with the actual state or condition of his own mind ; and as there are no two modes of reception exactly alike, there can be no two states alike ; hence human characters vary in degree of conduct and knowledge, showing the truth of Scripture, that every one is rewarded according to his works. These differences are not in the Divine Love and Wisdom, but are modifications thereof in the recipient subject. Science teaches that the rays of the sun, acting uniformly upon all vegetables, expand and open up their interior qualities, causing each to produce its like ; thus presenting an endless variety in their species and qualities. There is no gathering grapes of thorns or figs of thistles. In Scripture, man is frequently compared to trees of various kinds, and the Lord is called " the true Vine," while those who are his real disciples are the branches which abide in Him and bear fruit. David says : " The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted." (Ps. civ. 16.) Man is evidently here the subject treated of, and the Divine life of united love and wisdom, when received, becomes the vital fluid to the soul of man. It rises up, and, circulating throughout the whole mental frame, produces that beauty and richness of mind, that knowledge, intelligence and purity of action, which, in the language of correspondence, are the leaves, blossoms and fruits of the mental tree. Botany, in this case, pays its tribute, by showing that the sap, as the vegetable fluid, is composed of the nourishment extracted from the earth, by the roots of trees and plants ; which, rising up, circulates through the trunk and every limb and fibre of the plant, producing thereby its leaves, blossoms and fruits.

We might successfully go through all the sciences, and prove that every fish has within itself its own tribute-money, and that all of them are now willingly paying, at the shrine of Religion, their tribute and praise. It is certain that Religion claims Science as her handmaid. Those doctrines of theology that are sterling and sound, will always find science ready to prove and establish their truth. As it has been correctly observed that " an undevout astronomer is mad," so a man of scientific research, without religion, is mad too.

It has been said, that " the proper study of mankind is man ;" and surely he only can be said properly to know himself, wrho sees every thing around him in connection with his eternal destination. It is to be deeply lamented that the gratification of the bodily senses should occupy so fully our anxiety and care, should consume so much of our time, while those spiritual things which relate to the wisdom of life, and to all the solid pleasures of human existence, are comparatively neglected, as though they were deemed secondary or of minor importance. The time will certainly come to every man, when he will regret the moments he has suffered to pass away unimproved ; when hours, weeks and years that have been consumed in spiritual idleness, will stand before him like so many ghastly skeletons, upbraiding him for not covering them with sinews, flesh and skin, that so the living breath of God might have produced them as so many angelic forms. How different is the life of the good man the sincere Christian, whose early days have been spent under the cheering beams of the Sun of righteousness ; Avhose succeeding ones have been surrounded with pleasures, and whose end is peace, because his heaven is sure. This is the man who enjoys his feast with a true relish ; who experiences a calm even amidst the storms of life, and whose every hour improves the prospect of eternity.

Conclusion.

To bring the main points of this essay into a short compass, we shall conclude by observing, that The Lord God of Heaven, the everlasting Sun of righteousness, is a SINGLE DIVINE BEING, is the alone Source of life, the one Creator and Upholder of all things. All created existences came forth from his love by his wisdom. The proximate sphere of his glory is the bright SUN of all the heavens, and the everlasting light of creation. The going forth of these Divine creative rays formed the mn in nature to be their receptacle, and to become the instrumental cause of producing those worlds which revolve in our system ; making these again to be the abodes of rational and intelligent beings, formed to make endless progressions in love and wisdom ; and to pass through natural life to the attainment of that which is spiritual, everlasting and pure. The sphere of Divine Truth thus descending with life and vigor, produced all creation as a mighty mirror in which the love, wisdom, goodness, providence and presence of God are clearly reflected and seen. This truth at last, by Divine arrangement, flowed into the previously prepared minds of those appointed to embody it in natural language, and by maintaining a strict relationship between spiritual states of mind and the objects of nature, a close correspondence between them is observed throughout the inspired language of Reve lation, so that the Divine Truth thus embodied, partaking, in its descent from God to man, of all the states of affection and thought both of angelic and human life, becomes the " Lamp unto our feet," and emphatically " the Word of God." It is the true light of every man s little world, full of spirituality and life, and is as the " finger of God," to point to the regions of immortality and peace. Now as the Word of God is written in agreement with the science of correspondence, it follows that nothing but this science can correctly explain its sacred contents. He, therefore, who desires to be further acquainted with these matters, is requested to read the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. They will afford him information of the most instructive and delightful kind.

Reader ! I must now bid you farewell ! Sufficient has been said, it is hoped, to excite in your mind a veneration for those Divine Oracles of Truth which shadow forth, by the luxuriant appearances in nature, that everlasting land of promise, where an exuberance of celestial felicity must ever reside, and where forever flow the luscious streams of milk and honey.