dilection. The sceptic will find rare food, cut and prepared, to suit his appetite, and weapons sharpened to his hand, and tactics suggested, of the most subtle kind, well adapted for an effective warfare against the prevailing theology of the day. Those unaccustomed to think beyond the limits of a narrow creed, will be unable to peruse it. Unitarians will claim the book as their own, and the gifted Authoress besides. And thoughtful Newchurchmen (all such should certainly possess it) will read it with great profit; but, when finished, will, with renewed emotions of sincere gratitude, thank God for Swedenborg.

THE "RIVULET*" AND "THE CONTROVERSY." THE Rivulet is the modest and poetic title to a small volume of religious songs and "hymns for the heart and voice." They seem to flow from a heart and tongue as simple as a child's, and yet uttering the fervour and experience of one who has long been engaged in the spiritual warfare of a man of Christ, and who well understands the nature of the regenerate life, and the weakness and selfishness of the natural mind; yet fully conscious of its vast capabilities when depending on the arm of the Redeemer and Saviour. This is the spirit gently breathed in almost every hymn. The temptations to be met, the battles to be fought, the victories to be won, and the only Source of help in trouble, make up the burden of this contribution to sacred poesy. The field of battle is in a man's own heart, the foes are "those of his own household," and the objects of the inward conflict are purifications from evil and the acquisition of unmixed delight in the good and true :

"My soul is for a crown aspiring,

The crown of righteousness;

My soul is for the truth inquiring,-
For God, and nothing less:

Sin, sorrow, and the dark conspiring
Assault me, and I bleed;

Tired am I, but through love untiring
I know I shall succeed."

Similar aspirations pervade the entire volume, the same earnest spirituality is everywhere exhibited; and the obstacles to the upward efforts of the soul have no existence apart from its own depraved condition. Evidently, with the author, salvation is neither an arbitrary nor a momentary gift; but,

"When the wind is blowing,

Do not shrink and cower;

Firmly onward going

Heaviest the heart is

In a heavy air;
Every wind that rises

Feel the joy of power:

Blows away despair.

*The Rivulet; a Collection of Songs and Hymns for the Heart and Voice. By

T. T. Lynch.

Man is not left to struggle alone, unaided and unheeded, trusting in in any other power than the Lord himself:

"Christ in his Word draws near;
Hush, moaning voice of fear,

He bids thee cease;
With songs sincere and sweet,
Let us arise and meet

Him who comes forth to greet

Our souls with peace.
Rising above thy care,
Meet him as in the air,
O weary heart:

Put on joy's sacred dress,

Lo, as He comes to bless,

Quite from thy weariness,
Set free thou art.

For works of love and praise,
He brings thee summer days,
Warm days, and bright:
Winter is past and gone,
Now He, Salvation's sun,
Shineth on every one,

With mercy's light.

From the bright sky above,
Clad in his robes of love,

"Tis He, our Lord:
Dim earth, itself, grows clear,
As his light draweth near:
Oh, let us hush and hear
His holy word."

The members of the New Church do not generally give much heed to the controversies and divisions of other religious bodies; but what has transpired in connection with these poems will be found to possess an extraordinary interest to all who are concerned in the progress of religious truth; and it will somewhat surprise some of our friends, when they learn the results already produced by the issue of this fresh and unassuming little Rivulet. Had the work assumed the appearance of a thundering cataract, menacing the overthrow of old established creeds and churches, and equally careless what amount of ruin might happen to friend or foe, right or wrong, good or evil, the exhibition we have had of fierce "evangelical" wrath, loud deprecations, personal insults, hatred, and abuse, might have borne-what in the present case seems hardly discoverable-the ordinary evident relation between cause and effect. The facts are briefly these :

The editor of the The Morning Advertiser, in a review of the book, condemned, in strong terms, every verse it contains; and denounced it

entirely, on the ground of its being untheological, unspiritual, teaching a negation of doctrinal beliefs and Christian experience. "There is not," he said, "from beginning to end, one particle of vital religion or evangelical piety in it. At least, if there be, we have not been able to discover it. Occasionally-but even that is comparatively seldom-the name of the Saviour is introduced; but there is not one solitary recognition of his divinity, of his atoning sacrifice, or of his mediatorial office. Neither is the inherent depravity of man, nor the agency of the spirit, in the work of conversion and sanctification, even indirectly recognised from the first to the last page of the volume." The Eclectio Review likewise noticed Mr. Lynch's Songs and Hymns, but highly commended them for their great religious excellences, and for possessing the very qualities which the editor of The Morning Advertiser was unable to discover. Mr. Newman Hall, in consequence of the views expressed in the latter journal, publicly recommended the book at a meeting of the Colonial Missionary Society; and fifteen ministers of the Independent denomination, published in the Eclectic, a protest against the articles in the Morning Advertiser. The Protest declared, in regard to the hymn book, "We found, in a measure which has greatly delighted us, a spring of fresh and earnest piety, and the utterance of an experience eminently Christian, and of no ordinary complexion and range, with clear recognitions, of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Divine Spirit." This called forth Mr. Grant, the editor of the Advertiser, in several other articles, to justify what he had written, and repudiate some of the charges brought against him. The fifteen ministers are severely blamed for having committed themselves to the "neology" of Mr. Lynch's hymns; the Eclectic is impugned with deliberately misrepresenting the doctrines of the body of which it was the acknowledged organ, and for which it was established. Misunderstandings arise fast and numerous. Dr. Campbell unfurls the British Banner, of which he was the editor, and at once takes his position by the side of Mr. Grant. "A talent for abuse," begins to be displayed in earnest. The Patriot, hitherto a hand-in-hand cotemporary with the Banner, and a representative of the same principles, now ranks on the side of Mr. Lynch and the "Fifteen Protesters." The Nonconformist, too, in a series of articles, directed chiefly against the Banner, and all who would "hunt down" those who dare depart from the routine of orthodox forms and doctrines, makes many severe and sarcastic observations. Mr. Binney, one of the most prominent of the "Fifteen," at one of the meetings of the Congregational Union, took the opportunity of drawing the attention of the members then

present, (Dr. Campbell was among the number,) to the subject of the controversy, and principally to the Banner articles, which Dr. Campbell intended to republish in a pamphlet form; sought to dissuade Dr. C. from his purpose; and succeeded in obtaining a promise to that effect, at the unanimous request of the meeting. The articles, however, were republished shortly after. Misunderstandings and misrepresentations increase, bitter and acrimonious feelings arise, and are freely banded from one to another, and epithets of the most unusual description, and low insinuations, are poured forth in columns, week after week, for some time. Other newspapers take up the subject, and more pamphlets appear, some discussing the original question-the merits and theological character of Mr. Lynch's volume-others only aiming to undermine the moral position and influence of certain persons. At last the Rev. Brewin Grant, suddenly, and for the first time, makes his appearance, asking "What's it all about?"-the title he gives to his pamphlet sets to work with the evident conviction that he can settle the whole affair, give everybody what he deserves, and retire victorious from the field; he fires away, right and left, first at one, then at another, now nobody in particular, and sometimes makes a "hit;" but fastens himself more especially on the expressions of Mr. Binney, and endeavours to display his skill in manoeuvering with these through many a long page. At length he pauses, reflects a little, and leaves. the subject with a recommendation to his brethren to consider a more important question than the one he had been engaged with, namely, "When the Son of Man cometh, will he find faith on the earth ?" And then, he adds, "This is surely more worthy of our attention, and carries us to loftier eminences, where we have fresh breezes, to cool the fever of personal antagonism; and where we may be inspired with a nobler ambition than to pull down a fellow-servant; namely, to exalt our common Master!"

To the credit of Mr. Grant, the editor of the Advertiser, we must say, that he has adhered, more than any others who have entered into this controversy, to the original question which he started,-the character of Mr. Lynch's hymns. We, therefore, leave the consideration of those unhappy personalities which have arisen, to those who can best enjoy them, and devote what space we can afford to what is of more immediate interest and importance to the New Church. Mr. Grant is unquestionably correct in affirming, that the author of the Rivulet has shewn that he does not believe in the leading doctrines professed by "all evangelical denominations of Christians, in the sense in which they are ordinarily understood;" but we can see in his writings nothing to 3

NO. I.-VOL. I.

justify the assertion that he is either a Unitarian or a preacher of German Rationalism; his sentiments may, nevertheless, be more Scriptural than those expressed by Mr. Grant, and, therefore, not deserving the strong denunciations brought against them. The divinity of Jesus is confessed in these words, about as clearly as language can convey a meaning:

"Thou who wast in all behaviour,

Ever equal, free from sin,
Be to us a daily Saviour;

Over secret evil win

Secret conquest;

Reign without, because within."

Notwithstanding these last words we have italicised, it is asserted that "there is not a line in the book which the lowest Unitarian might not sing, while the majority of the hymns might be sung by Deists."

The doctrine of the atonement-in the only sense in which it can be consistently, scripturally, and rationally received-is expressed in the quotation from Mr. Lynch's prose writings, adduced by Mr. Grant in confirmation of the opposite opinion,-" For the love wherewith he pursued and suffered for us, and reconciled us to Himself,"-not according to the orthodox and unscriptural rendering, "reconciled Himself to us." Jesus Christ, as the mediator between the Father (the inmost Divine Essence) and finite man, is acknowledged in these lines:

"But in Jesus, yes, in Jesus,

Father, thou art understood."

If the "innate depravity of human nature" be not taught in Mr. Lynch's book, then our own senses join with the author in practising upon us a most unaccountable deception. We may venture to say, that at least one half of the hymns in the volume convey the idea of this doctrine, as palpably as the one we have first quoted at length. To what do the perpetual struggles and dangers allude, if not to the tendencies of the nature we inherit? But the personality of the Holy Ghost, does he teach or believe in that? Of course not; who does? who can? where is it taught in the Sacred Book? Jesus breathed on his disciples, and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Mr. Grant quotes these lines, descriptive of the human heart:

"And see, what verdure exquisite,

Within it hidden grows!

We never should have had the sight,

But for this brief repose."

And then he adds, "Here Mr. Lynch-and the Fifteen endorse and