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Surely these are laudable motives; they are motives existing with, and whence spring, the actions of the just made perfect above; yea, let me say, they are motives which actuate the breast of our blessed Lord and Saviour himself. No other motive and end could actuate the Divine Mind, in the establishment of a peculiar church in the world, by an immediate revelation from himself; and, at last, the establishment of the New Jerusalem, when all other dispensations had come to an entire consummation.

The man, who has his mind open to the influence of heaven, as is the case with all the genuine members of the Lord's Church, with whatever good his soul may be blessed, he cannot but will, and seek after the means, that others may participate in the enjoyment.

From this wish to benefit our fellow men-to impart to others of the spiritual riches which we possessed, commenced on the 27th January, 1788, now more than forty years ago, by a few, who were favourers of the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem, their avowed promulgation by public worship, and by preaching. And when we take a view of the New Church, in her present state, it evidently appears, that the Lord has prospered the work of the ministry therein, both in respect to its regular local exercise, and its missionary exertions. Since that commencement of the avowed promulgation of these heavenly doctrines, to this day, the receivers of the divine verities of the New Jerusalem, must have increased more than a hundred fold. Paul may plant, and Apollos may water, but it is the Lord alone that can give the increase. He is the omniscent God. All times and seasons are in his hand. He weighs the mountains in scales, and the hills in balances. His church is his peculiar care, because it is the grand nursery for his angelic heaven; and as the Lord now has no other peculiar church except his New Jerusalem; therefore, He has his especial eye on her prosperity and success; for thereupon depends the spiritual condition of all the other inhabitants of the globe; and not only of this globe, but of every globe in the universe; yea, of the very angelic heavens themselves. The inspiration therefore, to use all orderly means in our power, which may be conducive to promote the prosperity of his church, and to enlarge the receptivity of the heavenly doctrines upon which she is founded, is from the Lord Himself. Moreover, the work of the ministry is a labour in which he was pleased to employ himself, while in the world: hence the ministerial and the missionary labour, being an orderly means, sanctioned by His own authority and example, he will, when performed from a sincere heart to his glory, and our

neighbour's benefit, doubtless give his divine blessing, in causing it more or less, to be conducive to the desired end.

From the zeal, with which the minds of the recent receivers of the heavenly doctrines are enkindled :-from the ardency of its flame, in this their first love, they are very apt to think, that nothing more is requisite, except the promulgation of them, to have them eagerly received. But we may know, because we are instructed by our Lord himself, that the seed of Divine Truth falls on many soils, and that there is but one ground only-the good ground-the good and honest heart, in which it takes root to good purpose, so as to germinate and produce fruit, acceptable to the Lord, and saving to the soul.

The accumulated load of evils, hereditary and acquired, under which mankind universally groan; the erroneous principles which captivate their understandings, because agreeable to the concupiscences of the natural man; and the prejudice for long established opinions, are powerful obstructions to the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem making that rapid progress as, in many instances, doctrines grossly erroneous have done.

But we hope that as the new heavens, out of which from the Lord this Church descends upon earth, increase, goodness and truth, flowing down from heaven to earth in a larger stream, will have a more powerful influence in the world; that, the harvest being great, the Lord of the harvest will send forth labourers into his harvest, who may be efficient for the work;-who may be disposed to labour and to serve the Lord in the work of the ministry, and that it may be abundantly blessed in being instrumental in turning many to righteousness.

We have a rational ground of assurance that this pleasing prospect will eventually be realized in the New Church; that she will become a name and a praise in the earth; and, as the Lord's usual course of operations is by means, and as we all possess some means for the promotion of the establishment and welfare of his church, it becomes us to endeavour, one and all, according to our respective capacities and abilities, to co-operate with him in the accomplishment of the greatest service in his kingdom, constituted of his church in heaven, and his heaven on earth. And, however, in the narrow span of our probationary day on earth, we may not see the prosperity of the Lord's kingdom below, to the extent that our hearts could wish, we may rest assured that the Lord is watching over it by night and by day; that he has his New Church under His own Divine Human Auspice, that she will finally triumph over all opposition, and that the stone cut out of

the mountain without hands, will in due time become a great mountain, and infil the whole earth.

Let us then do our duty towards her while we are continued below, and at death we shall find our happy spirits ushered into the glory-the beatific vision, of the New Jerusalem above.

NOTE FROM THE EDITORS OF THE INTELLECTUAL REPOSITORY.

THE Editors of the Intellectual Repository, &c., request of the Editors of the New Jerusalem Magazine, &c., to oblige them by the insertion of this Note in the next Number of their work. By so doing they will assist in bringing the unpleasant discussion to which it relates more speedily to a termination.

Since the publication of the last Number of the Intellectual Repository, the Editors have been assured, through a channel professing to have accurate information, that the article in the New Jerusalem Magazine for May last, bearing the title of "Explanation of the terms Gnostics, Phantasiasts, and Pantheists," was not written by Mr. C. A. Tulk. Although, when they formed the opposite conclusion, as stated in their last Number, they did not proceed upon slight grounds. They freely acknowledge that they may, in this respect, have been in error: and they are willing to make this acknowledgment absolute, and to retract whatever they have said which rests upon such error as its foundation, if the gentleman affected will declare, or if the real author, being a different person, will avow himself and declare for him,—that he had no share in the composition of the article whatsoever, and was in no respect a party to it previous to its publication.*

*Whether Mr. Charles Aug. Tulk, or the REAL Xpn will or will not comply with this requisition of the Editors we know not; over this part of the affair we have no control, and must therefore leave it to those gentlemen to do as they please. We had prepared a paper to publish in this number, in which we had positively declared that the Editors of the I. R. had no ground for their charge, and that the "unpleasant disclosure," which they supposed themselves to have made, was altogether destitute of fact: but after receiving the "Note from the Editors of the Intellectual Repository," the publication of our own paper was deemed inexpedient. There is, however, a duty which we owe to ourselves, and which we feel called upon to perform. Our duty is to assure the Editors of the I. R. as well as to declare most positively, (and we do so because we think the intention of the Editors was to include us with Mr. T. in taking part in the "manœuvres" of which they complain) that the paper signed xn is NOT the production of CHARLES AUG. TULK, and "that he had no share in the composition of the article whatsoever, and was in no respect a party to it previous to its publication"-no nor after neither! We make this statement, neither from conjecture nor ignorance, but from positive knowledge. We declare most

solemnly, fearless of contradiction, that xp is not Charles Aug. Tulk, but another gentleman, who is an acknowledged and worthy lay-member of one

While the Editors of the I. R. thus admit it to be possible that they may have been more or less mistaken in regard to the authorship of the paper in question, they beg that they may not be supposed to retract any thing which they have said on the merits of the paper itself. Nothing, also, that they advanced, in other parts of the discussion, will be in the slightest degree affected by an error on this point.

On account of the time which must intervene before the Editors of the I. R. can take any further steps in the affair in their own work, they embrace the present opportunity of making the above statement. If the answer they may obtain shall be satisfactory, they will make every requisite acknowledgment in their next Number. Most abhorrent is it from all their principles and feelings to be instrumental in the slightest injustice towards their greatest enemies (if they have any.) Their end is nothing but the pure truth; and nothing but pure truth would they knowingly employ as means to that end.

July 17, 1828.

of the New Church Societies in London; more than this we are not called upon to state respecting xpn, this we think is quite sufficient for our purpose, and will tend to remove that obloquy which would deservedly be attached to us, if we could, knowingly, take a part in such unworthy manœuvres as are, by mistake, so unfortunately ascribed to Mr. T. But the Editors in the last number of their work, are not only mistaken respecting xp being Charles Aug. Tulk; but they are as much mistaken when they insinuate, (as they do when they say, "how many of the other signatures are transformations of Charles Aug. Tulk, is more than we can pretend to decide,") that some, if not all, of the other papers alluded to are his also. A word upon this is sufficient. The five papers to which we believe they have alluded, are signed EXPECTANS; 00; xpn; L. C. and CHARLES AUG. TULK. Now we positively declare, that not one of these papers has Mr. T. for its author, except that which is signed by his own name; and further that he never did write any paper that was afterwards printed in the New Jerusalem Magazine, but what was signed "***" or CHARLES AUG. TULK."

In making these plain statements of facts, we do not wish to be understood as advocating either the views of Mr. T. or of depreciating those of the Editors of the Intellectual Repository. We have taken no part whatever in this controversy, neither do we intend. The Editors of the I. R. charge Mr. T. with denying the reality of the Lord's appearance in the flesh, or of his actual incarnation, according to the obvious and popular meaning of the words: if this be a true charge, then we hesitate not to declare that we will not be supposed to entertain any such a nonsensical theory; for the belief of which there is not the slightest ground either in the Word of God, or in the Writings of Swedenborg. We must, however, confess, that we have not been able to discover any such denial in the papers of Mr. T. Our belief is most firmly grounded in the New Church doctrines which teach that Jesus Christ is the One only true and living God; that by actual Incarnation he was visible to the bodily sight of men, and became the Redeemer and Saviour of the world, in whose sacred, divine and glorified Person the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily. That we may all be daily and hourly strengthened in this belief, and that we may grow in the knowledge and love of it, is the sincere prayer of the

EDITORS OF THE NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE.

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The Astronomical Doctrine of a Plurality of Worlds irreconcilable with the popular Systems of Theology, but in perfect "harmony with the True Christian Religion: being a Lecture delivered April 13, 1828, at the New Jerusalem Church, Cross Street, Hatton Garden. With an Appendix, including additional Strictures on Dr. Chalmers, and other of the Principal Theological Writers on the Subject; by the Rev. S. Noble, 8vo. pp. 64, Is. 6d.

Although the doctrine of a plurality of worlds is pretty generally acknowledged in the present day to be a true and rational doctrine, yet, as the author shows in this work, it is nevertheless "irreconcilable with the popular systems of Theology, but in perfect harmony with the True Christian Religion." The man who attemps to prove the doctrine of a plurality of worlds to be false, and opposed to the Christian Religion, would find it just as easy a task to disprove his own existence, and just as rational. To suppose, with the late Lord President Forbes, that the heavenly bodies were created for no other purpose than their use to this earth; is about as good a piece of logic as to suppose, that three or four thousand large luminous bodies were created to give heat and light to a pea!

Our author's reasoning, respecting the perfect harmony that subsists between True Science and True Theology, is, we think, conclusive; for it is certain, that true Theology and true Science, must always agree together; but a false Theology and a true Science never can. Our author, in his reasoning upon this subject says:

It is, however, only between true Theology and true Science that there can be any just correspondence; and while the latter must ever attend, as an humble handmaid, on the former, she will also, as a loyal subject, expose the pretensions of every intruder that would usurp the throne of her legitimate queen.

"But a word of caution may here be expedient. Before any doctrine commonly accepted as a truth of Religion is rejected on the testimony of Science, it behoves us to be most thoroughly satisfied that Science has spoken out. Science has her fallacies as well as Theology; which have quite as often, and perhaps as long, imposed on the understandings of mankind. Many are the ridiculous fancies, which, under the name of Science, have had their advocates and admirers. Nevertheless, when Science presents a fact which is demonstrably true, or which is deduced from demonstrated facts by rational inference not less clear and convincing, we may be certain that no religious doctrine which is totally irreconcilable with it, can be a truth of genuine Theology. But here another caution, equally important with the former, also becomes necessary. When any truth of Science irresistibly militates against a certain doctrine of Theology, we are not to conclude that it militates equally against the Holy Scriptures, from which such doctrine is reputed to be drawn. That the Scriptures are truly entitled to be received as the Word of God, is demonstrable by evidence quite as convincing as any that can be given for the first truths of Science. All that is proved, then, when any positive truth of Science is

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