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borg it follows: That the Lord effected His Second Coming in and by means of those works which He Himself wrote through Swedenborg;' that these works contain the spiritual sense of the Word of God, and that consequently the doctrines of the New Church which are taught in these works are the spiritual sense of the Word. From this testimony it further follows that Swedenborg, in writing his theological works, was inspired by the Lord, and hence that these works come to us not with a human but with a Divine authority." With reference also to the relation which his published and unpublished works bear to this theory, he says further :

ing, the 27th January last, a most important meeting of this Society was held, Mr. R. R. Rodgers in the chair, at which the plans for new church and schools, as finally settled, were laid before the meeting for approval. The ground plans, elevations, sectional and detail drawings, were displayed upon the walls, and were explained by Mr. J. Bragg, who also moved a resolution authorizing and requesting the Trustees and Committee to carry them into execution. This was seconded by Mr. Willson, in a speech recalling the chief points of historical interest in connection with the Society during the last half century, and was unanimously passed. A resolution of thanks to the Committee for the time and trouble bestowed by them on the subject during the two years it has been under consideration was also passed. The meeting then entered into a more full discussion of "ways and means than had been necessary in previous speeches. Mr. Geo. H. Johnstone, who had been mainly instrumental, by his canvassing, in securing the success, read the list of promises already received, which amounted to £2500, and moved a resolution pledging the Society to support the movement to their utmost ability. Mr. J. A. Best, Mr. John Rabone, Mr. Haseler, Mr. Jas. Osborne, and other friends, addressed the meeting.

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"The knowledges which Swedenborg acquired by his intercourse with spirits and angels, and which served as vessels in his mind for the reception of the revelation of the internal sense, are partly contained in his Spiritual Diary and in several of his works which he published and also left in MSS.; and as everything that Swedenborg learned from representations, visions, and from conversations with spirits and angels, according to his testimony, 'is from the Lord alone,' therefore also those things seen and heard in the spiritual world, and hence the whole of his Spiritual Diary and all his 'Memorable Relations,' are from the Lord and not from himself, and therefore their teaching comes to us with the authority of the Lord, and not with the authority of Swedenborg.' Whatever may be the opinion of others on this important question, whether they agree with Dr. Tafel or not, there can be no doubt of the exhaustive research he has brought to bear on it; and it is certain that the data will be seen to point to the completeness of that revelation which has been made through the Writings of Swedenborg, and to show the folly of expecting a further revelation by a future seer. No one can deny that the truths which Swedenborg taught are of Divine and means;' but the scheme has authority, but the inspiration claimed for his writings by Dr. Tafel seems verbal and literal, and suggests the idea of a supplementary Scripture, rather than as it were the supply of a key to the Divine sense of the Word, and a guide to the true principles of its use to unlock the treasures therein.

The Chairman also spoke as follows: Nearly two years have passed away since you were called together to empower the Trustees to dispose of the property and land in Summer Lane, and to approve generally of the erection of a new church and schoolrooms in the neighbourhood of Soho Hill. That meeting went into the difficulties connected with removing our place of worship, and it was clearly seen that the direction of Handsworth was in all senses the best. Since that meeting, we have passed through a season of almost perpetual discussion on 'ways

gradually grown and taken form. On Friday, January 15th, 1875, the crisis came; it was a crisis of life or death. An estimate of costs amounting to £5100, exclusive of land or architect's fees, was handed in as the lowest possible charge. Every one felt that the moment was critical, and every one wore a face of gravity. This was on Friday night, the BIRMINGHAM.-On Wednesday even- 15th. On Saturday morning, the 16th,

Mr. J. Bragg waited on Mr. Geo. Hope Johnstone, with a proposition to the effect that he would give £300 if three others could be got to give each a like amount. Three other subscribers of £300 were not however to be found. Mr. Bragg was asked if he would alter his condition to two others, which he did. He was then told that two others, in Mrs. Wilkinson and Mr. G. H. Johnstone, were found, and from this commencement the new edifices in Wretham Road, Soho Hill, became a possibility and a certainty. Touched by this great liberality, everybody was thrown upon his mettle, and provoked

the Committee cannot see their way to do it. Still, as it will cost hundreds of pounds more if delayed for a few years, than if built now, they are very de sirous of accomplishing this external decoration and distinction at once if possible. The contract for the whole (without spire) is now signed, and the work of excavation for foundations is commenced. We hope in our next number to record that the actual building is going on, at any rate of the schools, which lie at the back of the land, and which are to be first proceeded with.

to do his best. Some who had intended BLACKBURN.-We regret to learn that to give £20 or £50 were induced to give Rev. Mr. Bates is about to retire from a hundred; those who had purposed to the pastorate of this Society, and is not, give five or ten, gave twenty or thirty, at present, seeking any other charge. and so on to the subscribers of a guinea. Family and other circumstances seem to Those of you who have not yet handed compel his attention, for a time, at least, in your promises are asked to second to secular pursuits, and to withdraw him the generous efforts of all who have from the work of the ministry, on which hitherto subscribed, and let us indulge he had so recently more fully entered. in the hope and anticipation of entering our New Church home quite free of debt. And on all that we have done, so far, and on all that we may be led to do in this important business, may the Divine blessing rest upon us, and may His wisdom guide us.

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The remainder of the evening was passed in receiving additional small subscriptions, which amounted to about £60. The infection of liberality spread even to the youngest member of the congregation and to the Sunday-schools, many of whose subscriptions were indeed gratifying. At the date of writing this notice the Committee are seriously considering the advisability of retaining possession of the Summer Lane property-in the first place as an act of prudence, believing that it will probably fetch a much larger price in a few years, and secondly, in the hope that ere it is sold our successors may find that a more centrally situated church is become a necessity. The miscellaneous buildings now covering the land could then be removed, and a magnificent structure erected upon the site. The further question of completing the original plans for our New church at Wretham Road, by building the spire, is also being debated, and a few special donations have been offered towards its erection. But the extra cost will be £500 or £600, and at present

BCURN.-A correspondence arising out of Mr. Gunton's lectures at this place has been conducted in the pages of the Spalding Free Press. The attack of Mr. Allen was sufficiently comprehensive, cutting up root and branch, in his own estimation, "all the doctrines which he (Swedenborg) teaches, except his resurrection theory." The controversy seems, however, to have taught this gentleman something respecting the New Church. His last letter opens with this avowal :

"I ask your kind permission to retract that portion of my remarks which appeared in your issue of the 15th ult., as being uncharitable and severe, when directed to Swedenborgians indiscrimin ately. I wish them only to apply to the cases alluded to, for this reason- 'The Spiritual World,' by Rev. Chauncey Giles, is evidently a production of a choicer kind, and not all fancy, espe cially his argument on the nature of spirit, which shows a depth of thought and thorough acquaintance with all the obstacles he had to contend with. Nevertheless, I see no reason to renounce the old truths (taught by Jesus Christ and His disciples, perpetuated by His apostles, and preserved to us by almost miracles) for these new ones; and all who reverence the former in their entirety should with prudent zeal

declaim against innovations, be they ancient or modern."

This curious paragraph begs the entire question. Is modern orthodoxy the doctrine taught by the Lord and His apostles, or has the Church departed from the faith delivered to the saints, and ended in darkness? Mr. Gunton has shown that the doctrine of Three Divine Persons in the Godhead is not the doctrine of the Scriptures; and if so, then it is Mr. Allen and those who think with him who have departed from the faith, and are exhorted by the missionaries of the New Church to return to it.

HORNCASTLE. This Society has just celebrated its second anniversary by a series of special Sunday services and week-day meetings, all of which we learn were of a very satisfactory nature. At the Sunday evening services the attendance was excellent. At the tea-meeting on Monday about seventy were present, and to hear the address after the tea there was a larger number. The reports read at the business meeting showed that much activity had existed during the past year. At the beginning of that year the lady members suggested a monthly sewing meeting; this has been carried out with praiseworthy earnestness, and the result is a transfer from the sewing meeting fund to the funds of the Society of £13. Other friends have aided by liberal contributions in money, one consisting of the sum of £9. The Treasurer's account showed a balance in hand of over £46, £30 of which was voted to the reduction of the debt on the Church, leaving still a debt of £60; and £15 was voted to the funds of the Missionary and Tract Society, to which institution the Horncastle Society may be said to owe its prosperous career. The Society has engaged the services of Mr. J. R. Boyle of Bacup for four consecutive Sundays, the first being Sunday, February 14th. Mr. Gunton, who has conducted these services, has arranged to visit Peterboro', Longsutton, Holbeach, and Grimsby. The "Silent Missionaries are freely purchased after the lectures and services everywhere. About sixty have been sold at Horncastle this visit.

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IPSWICH. We extract the following from the East Anglian Daily Times of January 25th:

"New Jerusalem Church, High Street.-Special services were held in the above church yesterday, Mr. Gunton, of London, officiating. The services were fairly attended, and the audiences seemed attentive to the subjects brought under their notice. The theme of the morning's discourse was John x. 11-I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.' The preacher remarked that the good Shepherd was the same as spoken of so emphatically in the 34th chapter of Ezekiel, that is, the great Jehovah, clothed with humanity, and thus manifested as Jesus Christ, or as expressed by Zacharias, filled with the Holy Ghost, The Lord God of Israel, who hath visited and redeemed His people;' and the sheep, he said, represented those amongst mankind who were principled in love to the Lord, and in mutual love, or the love of their fellow-men. The discourse in the evening was on the true worship of the Lord, from Psalm cxv. 6. The preacher pointed out the threefold nature of mann-the sensuous, rational, and spiritual, and said that the aspiration of the soul alluded to in the text was an implanting in the highest part of our nature, by our Heavenly Father, which, if brought into exercise by the man, in his affections, thoughts, and external life, would be sure to accomplish the purpose of the Divine Saviour, which was to elevate man to Heaven,' and so give him the felicities of eternal life."

ISLINGTON.-On Wednesday, the 27th January, the children of the Sundayschool assembled at four o'clock for their Christmas festival. Games of various kinds were played with the energy which distinguishes youth until 5.30, when a good tea received full justice from appetites sharpened by previous exercise. After tea, some well-chosen recitations and musical pieces afforded both pleasure and instruction, until the magic lantern was ready. This attractive source of amusement was ready at 7.45, and the story of the Pilgrim's Progress was admirably told in scenes well devised to impress the juvenile mind with a desire to read again John Bunyan's immortal work. Fortunately, the poet's privilege to pass from grave to gay-from lively to severe-belongs also to the wonderful lantern, and the progress of the Pilgrim

was followed by a comical story of a boy named Peter, who, disobeying the advice of his parents, goes through a series of disasters, and becomes, poor fellow, Saltpetre-instead of a good little boy. This story, which naturally excited much amusement by the comical nature of the events depicted, was followed by some charming illustrations of English and foreign scenery, and the usual chromotropes, etc., which brought a very pleasurable evening to a close.

LOWESTOFT.-Children's Soiree and Public Entertainment.-Since Mr. Child settled here an effort has been made to place the Sunday-school on a better footing, by a system of marks for attendance and punctuality, uniform lessons, more thorough order, an afternoon address to the children from the minister, superintendent or a teacher, and by a weekly teachers' meeting for instruction in the Sunday lesson. In continuance of the effort a soiree was given to the children on the 13th of January last, at which also a distribution of books was made for regular and punctual attendance; and the children themselves, assisted by the choir, gave at the same time a public entertainment of a varied and interesting character, consisting of recitations, songs, anthems, and pieces on the pianoforte. The double effort was a success. It was an encouragement to the children as at once receiving and giving, and to the teachers through them: it presented the town with a favourable impression of us; and moreover, left something in hand for the future benefit of the school. The church was filled. The newspapers reported very favourably.

Marriage.

On the 3rd December 1874, at the New Jerusalem Church, Kearsley, by the Rev. P. Ramage, Robert Cooke, Printer, Farnworth, near Bolton, to Anne, only daughter of the late Rev. W. Woodman.

Obituary.

Dr. John Gordon entered the spiritual world on the 24th June 1874. He was born in the year 1810, in Inverness, Scotland, and was brought up as a Catholic, but at an early age he saw that

His

the doctrine of Transubstantiation was unreasonable, and afterwards that it was unscriptural. He connected himself with the Presbyterian body, and in after life often spoke in warm terms of Dr. Kidd, not as instrumental in changing his opinions, but rather as giving him a higher standard of moral and religious life. He emigrated with his family to the colony of New South Wales about the time of the discovery of the gold, and one of the positions he occupied during the period of confusion that followed was that of teacher in the Model School, Sydney, under the superintendence of Mr. M'Lauchlin, sonin-law of the venerable and Rev. D. G. Goyder. Of course he could not be long in the company of Mr. M'Lauchlin and his affectionate wife without hearing of the New Church, and through their instrumentality the Stone which the builders rejected became with him the Head of the corner. After many changes he ultimately resumed the practice of his profession as based upon the principles of homœopathy, and settled in West Maitland for the last thirteen years, where he acquired some reputation for skill and success. reputation spread through a wide extent of the surrounding districts, and since his departure many have declared his acquaintance to have been a great blessing to them. From defective eyesight he was never a great reader of human literature, but his retentive memory showed that he had the Word at his finger ends, and he frequently made weighty and telling impressions in conversation by the use of appropriate quotations. He often lamented to the writer the ignorance of religious professors in general, including even many of those who call themselves of the New Church, who had the Word on their tables and in their pews, and who read it and heard it read, but who had it not in their minds and hearts, where it should be, and who seemed to be acquainted only with a few stock passages here and there. Of himself it might truly be said "his delight was in the law of the Lord, and in His law did he meditate day and night." As a result of this meditation, and with the possession of the key to the understanding of the Word contained in a knowledge of the "only wise God our Saviour," he thought out for himself all

was

the leading principles of the New Esq., of Blackman Lane, Leeds, in Church independently of the New the seventy-fourth year of his age. Church writings, although, when Providence placed these writings in his possession, he loved to hear them read. Like all independent thinkers, his conclusions sometimes differed from those of others. One instance of this may be given in the case of Elijah being fed by the ravens. He considered these ravens to be the aboriginal inhabitants of the country, who were called such because they had the mental and spiritual characteristics to which ravens correspond. If this conclusion has been reached by others, the present writer never met with it. Our friend was very slow in expressing his differences of opinion, and was accustomed to say that such differences would never be removed by intellectual discussion, but that the only way to see eye to eye was to come into the mutual possession of that spirit of charity "that rejoiceth in the truth." He had by nature and hereditary transmission the choleric disposition of the Celt, but during the last few years of his life there was in that respect a great change in him. As the acid fruits of spring become the mild and luscious fruits of autumn by the action of the sun's heat and light, so the increasing influences of the Sun of Righteousness on our departed friend seemed to produce analogous effects, which were most observable to those with whom he was most intimate. He had frequent changes of state preceding his last illness. He was occasionally very depressed on considering his past life, and once he said to the writer that he loathed himself, and used many strong expressions of self-abasement. For his own comfort, as well as for the instruction of his family, he frequently read at family-worship the 18th and 33rd chapters of Ezekiel, and other portions of the Word where the Lord's mercy is magnified. As if to raise him out of his state of despondency, he was favoured in a vision of the night with a foretaste of the joy there is in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. He was very happy after this, often sing ing to himself those beautiful lines: "The Lord our God shall wipe the tears From every weeping eye;

And sighs and groans, and griefs and fears,
And death itself shall die."

On the 2d of December last, departed to his eternal home, John Mitchell,

From a funeral sermon preached in
Albion Chapel, Leeds, by the Rev. R.
Storry, we extract the following account
of this esteemed member of the New
Church :- 66
My first introduction to
Mr. Mitchell," said the preacher,
"was in the year 1836. It
immediately after the death of Mr.
Gilbert, and when this (the Leeds)
Society was in one of its most anxious
periods. He was then a young man,
and formed one of a happy family group.
He was in comparative affluence, and the
world smiled upon him. All the attrac
tions of this period of his life were
away from the New Church. His family
were esteemed members of orthodox
churches. His father was the bosom
friend and warm admirer of one of the
most eminent Congregational ministers
of his day, the Rev. Dr. Hamilton,
in whose church he held the office of
deacon. On the side of his family,
therefore, was the neatly appointed
family pew, the large and fashionable con-
gregation, the eloquent preacher, and
the certainty of social distinction. Our
friend relinquished these worldly advan-
tages to cast in his lot with the small
and despised body of the New Jerusalem.
He had a short time before wandered
into the New Church place of worship,
then in North Street, at the end of
Byrom Street. The simple and un-
adorned preaching of the truth by Mr.
Gilbert had arrested his attention, and
further inquiry convinced his judg
ment and enlightened his understanding.
The truth had taken possession of him,
and he had the strength of character to
maintain it firmly, but with modesty.
The religious life thus commenced was
continued with the usual variations
of the Christian course during the re-
mainder of a quiet and unobtrusive but
useful life. The course of Christian life is
rarely an uninterrupted progress. It is
through light and shade, sunshine and
storm, summer and winter. Its seasons
of spiritual peace are alternated by
worldly cares and spiritual temptations.
Of this chequered kind was the life of
our friend. He had to pass through a
reverse of earthly fortune, and he did
so without losing hope or making
shipwreck of faith. He retained his
wonted serenity of mind and quiet
cheerfulness of character. And as he

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