OUR ETERNAL HOMES. By a BIBLE STUDENT. London: F. Pitman. THIS is one of the most interesting, as it will prove to be one of the most useful, of the collateral works that have been produced in the New Church-we should rather say by a New Church writer, for there is nothing to connect it with the New Church except the grand truths which it so accurately and elegantly enunciates. It is a miniature picture, but a photographic one, every point and line being clear and distinct. Suitable at all times, it is especially seasonable at present. A work on the same subject and with a similar title has passed, within a comparatively few months, through some seventy editions, showing the great interest which even this worldly age feels in another world. We have read these two works together, and have been greatly impressed with the immense superiority-spiritually, rationally, and practicallyof that which a Bible Student has produced. Yet the other is a somewhat remarkable book. The secret of its powers evidently lies in those peculiarities in which it makes some approaches to New Church views. It makes heaven a substantial place, and its inhabitants social beings. Yet even on these points of resemblance, on which the two works approach nearest to each other, the contrast is striking and instructive. Let us compare them on the question, Where is heaven? The author of "Heaven our Home" answers the inquiry thus :— "Heaven has its position in the great ocean of space. It may be, that beyond all that is visible, and beyond all that is existing in God's lower creation, there lies, and there expands, and there gleams, beneath the light of God's manifested presence, the heaven of heavens, which forms the etherealised, luminous, material habitation in which the children of God are throughout eternity to dwell. Heaven may be to the whole material orbs of God's great universe what the sun is to the solar system—a region of brightness, so dazzling that all the light that is in the universe may be flowing out from it; and thus it may be that all that is luminous in the lower creation is exactly to heaven what the planets are to the sun-dark, floating masses-till lightened by its beams." (p. 12.) To give the heavenly world substantiality, the author has to give it materiality; but without a knowledge of discrete degrees, it is hardly possible to avoid such a mistake. There is, however, something more than fancy in the idea that the spiritual is the centre of the material universe, and that even our solar orbs are lighted from the heavens of a central sun as a region of brightness. On the question, Where is heaven? the author of "Our Eternal Homes" speaks thus "The first answer is, that heaven is not a natural place-that is, not within the confines of natural space. As heaven is the abode of spiritual beings, so it must be a spiritual place; and if such a definition be difficult of comprehension, it may be asked, Where in the body is the soul of man? As the spiritual being, the REVIEW. 578 soul is within the body and yet not of it, so heaven may be regarded as being within nature and yet not of it. It is beyond the bounds of space, not as being situated in some indescribable region far beyond the physical stars, but as being uncircumscribed by the limitations of physical space, just as it is beyond the bounds of time, in being unfettered with its limitations and unaffected by its laws." (p. 24.) We might carry this contrast through much of the two books, but we think it unnecessary. We give as another specimen of the work a passage which needs no foil to enhance its beauty: "There is in human history an unwritten chapter, which is yet thronged with mysterious incidents half fearfully remembered by their witnesses. To publish them might provoke the witless sneers of materialistic satirists, as well as wound the feelings of those of whose feelings the love that we cherish for them makes us most regardful. All who have frequently stood beside the bed of the dying, must have been thrilled with singular testimonies that the dying are conscious of the presence of other than mortal visitants. It would be shallow and cruel to assert that the weakening faculties of those passing away were deceived, and that such consciousness was hallucination. Though some may take refuge in this belief on reflecting upon such incidents, yet at the moment when the dying utter their testimonies, it is difficult for even scepticism to doubt. The thrill they feel gives denial to the unbelief they afterwards profess. Is it not a grander and more consolatory conviction, that when Christians are passing away from their earth-work to their eternal homes, then the attenuating links that chain consciousness to time and clay are melting away one by one, and their consciousness becomes, by the gradual enfranchisement of a lingering death, more and more spiritual? Thus sinking to sleep as to earth, they are awaking to heaven; growing unmindful of the lower and outer existence, they are arousing to the inner and spiritual life; becoming blind to the clay-enveloped forms of friends standing round their failing bodies, they see already, as through a mist, the brighter beings who are to be their everlasting companions—some of whom may be already welcoming their coming. Their hearing waxing dim, and unconscious to the melody of beloved voices whispering in their natural ears, they can become aware of a sweeter music sung by more exquisite voices still, of the beloved who have gone before them; in fine, dying unto earth, they are becoming alive unto heaven. Does this not fully and worthily explain the solemn scenes of thousands of death-beds ?—visions of spiritual visitants ministering to the dying, resplendent light surrounding glorious beings who hardly cast a shadow, gorgeous scenery, bright with never-fading beauty, voices thrilling in tenderness, music mysterious in harmony, the recognition of dear familiar faces fondly loved in the bygones, or the foreknowledge which some have received of the exact moment of their departure? There are few families who have not some tale of this kind to tell-some testimony to add to this proof of the contiguity of the spiritual world. They hide such secrets in their hearts, not caring to provoke the ridicule of the incredulous, and in the feeling that there is something too holy in such reminiscences to permit them to cast them to the dogs. Yet the memories of such incidents still cling to them, perhaps more closely for their silence; and such recollections establish in them the certainty that the other world is nearer to us than many have believed." We cannot but hope, that while this little work will be read with pleasure and profit by the members of the New Church, it may, by means of a wide circulation, carry correct and consolatory views of life and immortality to numbers of Christians beyond its pale. MISCELLANEOUS. GENERAL CHURCH INTELLIGENCE. JERSEY.-The annual meeting of the New Church Missionary Association was held on Sunday afternoon, October 30th. The fourth annual report of the Committee was read. It alluded in complimentary terms to the ministerial visits of the Rev. T. Chalklen and the Rev. J. B. Kennerley, and especially noticed at length the series of lectures by the latter. The report then proceeds : "In taking a retrospective view of the past four years, your committee regret that all has not been done that could be wished; nevertheless, there is no cause for despondency. During the brief existence of the Association, there have been five missionary visits, as well as occasional visits from friends not at the expense of the missionary funds. During the past to the present time, there have been received from subscriptions and donations upwards of £25. During the same period there has been expended nearly £26. ;leaving a deficit due to the treasurer of 14s. 10d. There are also several subscriptions due, which will more than meet the balance. It must be borne in mind that each missionary visit has been assisted with the sum of £3. from the National Missionary Institution. In closing this report, your committee urge the necessity of united exertion, so that the light of New Church truths may be extended. These are the times of the latter days; the people are beginning to see a great light; they have seen the star in the east; let us show them the right direction, through the New Jerusalem, to the meridian Sun of Righteousness, who is the only God of heaven and earth." Resolved, That the report be received, and copies be sent to the New Church periodicals. Resolved,―That missionary exertions be used to extend the doctrines of the church beyond the limits of the town. After the usual business of electing the officers and committee for the ensuing year, the friends adjourned to Mr. T. De Fay's, York-street, and partook of tea, provided for the occasion by Mrs. De Fay. Thus ended the fourth year of the Association. ST. IVES, HUNTS.-ORDINATION OF MR. WM. TALL.-The ordination of Mr. Tall, which was approved at the last Conference, (minute 56,) took place on Sunday evening, Nov. 13, in the church at St. Ives, where Mr. Tall has laboured with such persevering industry for several years. The ordination was performed by the Rev. Dr. Bayley, who preached both morning and evening. In the morning Mr. Tall was publicly baptized, and the ordination took place in the evening, in the presence of a large congregation. The service was commenced by singing a hymn, a prayer, one lesson from the Word, and the singing of a chant. Mr. Tall, attired in a new white linen robe, then advanced from the vestry to the front of the communion table. He was preceded by the venerable Mr. Summers, whose zeal and fidelity to the church is a pattern to us all; and by Mr. Culpin, the secretary of the society, who both stood on Mr. Tall's right hand during the ordination; on his left hand stood Mr. Isaac Gunton, Mr. Tilley, and Mr. Mawer. The Rev. Dr. Bailey then proceeded with the ordination service, as prescribed in the Liturgy. The reading of the candidate's profession of faith, by the Dr., to all of which Mr. Tall gave his emphatic assent, was very impressive, and must have produced a reverential respect for our holy doctrines in the minds of those strangers who were present, and also have given to such a comprehensive view of the doctrines of the church; for I think the ordination service presents the most complete summary of our doctrines that we have. As the service proceeded, the solemnity of the occasion was felt to increase, and when it came to where the candidate made his solemn promise of fidelity to the holy office into which he was about to be inducted, his half-choked utterances and the tearful eyes of his friends showed how deeply solemn and affecting was the occasion. But it was an occasion of deepest joy, and of hearfelt gratitude to our Heavenly Father that he had given another minister to His church. When the ordination was finished, the congregation sang that beautiful hymn (338) beginning "O Lord, thy servant here inspire, With love, and truth, and pure desire," during which the Rev. Dr. Bailey ascended the pulpit, and the newlyordained minister sought relief in the seclusion of the vestry. The singing of the hymn being over, Mr. Tall took his seat in the church, and listened, with the rest of the congregation, to a most impressive and interesting discourse from Jeremiah, 3 ch. 15 v.-" And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." The service was closed in the usual way, and the members retired, deeply thankful to the Lord that, of His goodness, He had given another earnest and efficient minister to the church in the person of the Rev. William Tall. SNODLAND.-On Wednesday evening, October 19th, a highly interesting and encouraging meeting was held here, by the members and friends of our society, in the large room of the Queen's Head Hotel, when we were joined by friends from London, Woolwich, Chatham, Tunbridge, and Maidstone. About 100 persons sat down to a well-furnished table and an excellent tea. C. T. Hook, Esq. was called upon to preside, who, in a few effective and appropriate remarks, introduced Mr. E. Austin, of London, to the meeting. In an interesting and telling speech, Mr. Austin dwelt upon the superior nature of the doctrines of the New Church when contrasted with the anomalous creeds and articles of faith in the churches around us. As members of this new and glorious dispensation (he said) we should show our gratitude to the Lord for its benefits to us by our works of usefulness and love, and thus help forward that good time to which the finger of prophecy directs the devout and humble mind. Mr. C. Pugh, of Tunbridge, who followed, said he was delighted to meet with friends on the same platform of thought as himself, being an isolated receiver of the heavenly doctrines. He desired above all things else to disse minate as much as possible the truths as contained in the writings of the church. Mr. French, of Maidstone, gave us an illustration in himself of the use of our Tract societies, having been brought into the New Church through the medium of these silent but potent messengers of peace and love. He earnestly advocated the dissemination of "the writings," believing they were fully calculated to raise mankind to the honourable and dignified character of Man. Mr. Fenton, a gentleman who has but recently been introduced to "our author," in a short but pithy speech, said that he was a reader of the works of Swedenborg, and that to his mind they were the most comprehensive and logical body of divinity he had ever met with-that there was something in them ever inviting onward and upward. Mr. J. Privett, sen., spoke on the "One source of Good and Truth," and said that their tendency was indeed "onward and upward;" for every opposite principle of evil, and its false, had a tendency "outward and downward," which he illustrated by the circumstances manifested in the fall of the members of the Most Ancient Church. 66 Of Mr. Gladwell, in commencing his speech, said that the presence of so large a company could not but encourage the hands of those who had been the instruments of raising and fostering the society which now existed in Snodland. He dwelt on "breaking up and building up," and wished all present to mark the "signs of the times." "A change," he proceeded to say, a mighty change has come and is coming upon the inhabitants of the earth; and there are signs of many forms of religion breaking up, as Budhism, Brahminism, Mahometanism, Judaism, with all the other isms. Judaism our Lord had said, in the days of his incarnation, 'This generation shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled,' the Jewish typical church having finished its uses, having been instrumental in depositing the everlasting Word in safer hands for a perpetual keeping, was now breaking up; and sectarian Christianity, as such, was modifying her formularies and her creeds, and was giving signs of breaking up. But her's would not be a breaking up to annihilation, but to the diffusion of a more internal and spiritual life, the effect of which would be to build up, as the apostle to the gentiles records it, 'into the dis pensation of the fulness of times,' which dispensation would gather to itself all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth.'" Selections of sacred music were given during the evening by Mr. and Miss Lear, of Chatham. At the close of this interesting meeting, a vote of thanks was unanimously accorded to the chairman. OSWALDTWISTLE.-On Sunday, Oct. 16th, the Sunday-school sermons were preached by Mr. W. Westall, of Bolton. He addressed the teachers and scholars in the morning on the advantages of Sunday-school tuition, encouraging the teachers and conductors to continue their work in the good cause: we had the youth of the church under our care, and its future state depended upon their proper training. The subject for the afternoon discourse was David's lamentation over Saul and Jonathan. The evening discourse was the subject of prayer, and was very effective. This service was attended chiefly by strangers, who listened with great attention; and from what we could learn, Mr. Westall gave general satisfaction. The visit of Mr. Westall will have been the means of popularising our little society, and lessening the deep-rooted prejudice which has long existed against us. If we could obtain more assistance of our New Church friends in this neighbourhood it wonld aid us in forwarding the good work of the New Jerusalem. HOCKLEY, BIRMINGHAM.-An interesting course of lectures has been delivered in the Hockley school-room, under the auspices of the National Missionary Society. On Wednesday evening, Nov. 2, the Rev. W. Woodman, of Stoneclough, lectured on "Marriage: its divine origin and sanctions; its sacred character and relations, and its eminent spiritual uses." On the following evening, the subject of the lecture was "the first and second comings of the Lord; their respective natures and objects." These two lectures were tolerably well attended, a large portion of the audience being strangers, who had been attracted by the public announcements. On the following Wednesday and Thursday evenings, two more lectures were delivered by the Rev, J. B. Kennerley, of Salford. The first was on "the Resurrection: how are the dead raised, and with what bodies do they come ?" The second was on the interesting question, "How shall we know each other in heaven ?" This lecture, particularly, attracted a very large audience, the room being well filled. It is not calculated that great immediate results will arise from these special efforts, but there are some grounds to believe they will be eminently useful in leading the minds of strangers to think seriously upon the subjects dwelt upon. At the same time it is hoped that these meetings will be of some considerable use to the members of the Hockley Society, by confirming them in these great and important truths. LONGTON.-The Rev. E. Madeley revisited the society here, and preached on Sunday, the 14th of August. In the morning he gave a most excellent discourse on the words of our blessed Saviour to Martha, "One thing is needful;" and in the afternoon he preached from Revelations xxi. 3, on both occasions to attentive congregations. It was the intention of the society to have the sacrament administered on the Sunday Mr. Madeley preached, but the notice of his visit was too brief to admit of the necessary arrangements. In the evening there was a conversational meeting, at which Mr. Madeley presided, when much useful instruction was imparted, and a very happy feeling prevailed. A gentleman was present, who, by reading some New Church tracts, had been convinced of the truth of the doctrine of the Trinity; but could not see with the same clearness that of the "second advent," Mr. Madeley, in answering numerous questions on the subject, so entirely convinced him, that he is now firmly attached to the doctrines. There were present, also, several strangers, two of whom declared that they had received more instruction that evening than they had done from all the sermons they ever heard, and that upon subjects of which, before, they had the most conflicting ideas. Last year we received three new members, and we expect three others in the present year. The Society begs to acknowledge, with heartfelt thanks, the kindness and instructive teaching of Mr. Madeley when amongst them; also to return their sincere thanks to the Missionary Society for the valuable services rendered by that useful institution. IPSWICH.-An institution has recently been established in this town called |