stock, and derive its sap, more or less modified, from the old root; but the Lord's New Church is neither a shoot from the old stock, nor does it derive its sap of life from the old root. Its shoot is derived from an entirely new germ, which is the Lord, in His Divine Humanity; whereas the Old Church, in its orthodox forms, is a growth from the tripersonal creed of Athanasius, which the New Church believes is the origin of all the falsities of doctrine that have so long and so fatally inundated the Church with every kind of falsehood and of evil. Now, it is an improper use of language to say that a tree which has sprung from an entirely new seed is a section of an old tree, or a graft from its trunk— we mean a tree which, from its barren and corrupt character, only "cumbers the ground," and which, by the process of judgment, we know has been cut down, and its roots blighted and withered with spiritual death. In making this remark, we do not mean that all the members of this consummated church partake of her evils and falses. Far from this is our thought; for we well know that in the consummated church there is a great remnant, signified by the one hundred and fortyfour thousand, out of every tribe and denomination, who have the “seal of God in their foreheads." To these the New Church addresses itself, and presents to them the precious seed of its heavenly doctrines from an enlightened interpretation of the Word, and affectionately exhorts them to come forth and “to behold the King in his beauty," even the Lord Jesus Christ, with his face shining as the sun, and his garments white as the light, as the one only Divine Person of the Godhead," in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth bodily," and as the one only true Object of worship to angels and men—the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.

The New Church is, consequently, no more a sect of the Old Church than the Christian Church, in its beginning, was a sect of the Jewish. Another point to be considered, as suggested by our respected correspondent, is that of worship. He would, it seems, advise those who receive the doctrines of the New Church to remain, for the sake of earthly ties and connexions, in the denomination or sect in which their lot has been cast, and especially in the Church of England, which is "tolerant," and which, in the progress of events, is likely, "both as to doctrine and administration, to be much improved." This, we doubt not, will be the case, especially under the influence of a new reform in Parliament, as a new ultimate medium in the hands of the Lord's Providence. However dear the "earthly ties and connexions " may be which associate us with a consummated church, yet the voice of truth peremptorily commands those who receive the doctrines of the Church of the New Jerusalem,

saying “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Rev. xviii. 4.) For to give any countenance, either by our presence or by other means, to what we believe to be erroneous and false, is certainly to be in danger of being partakers of the sins, and of incurring the plagues of a fallen church. And this is the more inexcusable when opportunities are at hand of worshipping in harmony with the principles we possess. This inconsistency is justly condemned in things moral and civil, and we are quite certain it is even more to be condemned in things spiritual, upon which so much, as to our final states, must depend. Those who have received the doctines of the New Church with sincerity, and with any rational conviction, and still practise this inconsistency, for the sake of earthly considerations, must expect to consociate themselves interiorly with a class of spirits in opposition to their states, from whom, however, they must be separated before they can come to their proper home in the habitations and mansions of heaven. If this interior separation is not effected in this life, it can be effected in the other only by severe vastations, for there is nothing that consociates men so interiorly and so closely together as acts of worship, especially where sincerity prevails; and if there is no sincerity, but merely selfish and earthly considerations, the worship itself is but a mere mockery and profanity, and has no more spiritual efficacy in it than a "sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal."

In favour of non-separation, Swedenborg, it is alleged by our correspondent," punctually attended the worship of the Lutheran Church, more intolerant than the Church of England." Swedenborg, it is true, was a man of deep piety; and, no doubt, up to the period of his spiritual illumination, was a strict observer of the duties of public worship, and, in his writings, a strenuous advocate of those sacred duties. But we learn from the "Documents concerning his Life and Character," &c., that, in his latter years, he rarely attended the Lutheran Church. Passing much of his time in England, where he was many years superintending his "Arcana Coelestia," and other works, through the press, he rarely, it is said, went to the Swedish Church; but, when there, the spirits who attended him contradicted what was heard, as being contrary to the truth, so that he could have no peace until he had quitted the place.†

* See the "Documents concerning the Life and Character of E. Swedenborg," by the Rev. J. H. Smithson. New edition.

+ See Ferelius, the Swedish clergyman's letter, inserted in this periodical for 1842, p. 476, where it is said :—“ Although Swedenborg went sometimes to the Swedish Church, and afterwards dined with me, or with some other Swede, he

And we have no doubt that every sincere worshipper, who has some knowledge of New Church doctrine, feels, under similar circumstances (without being in open communication with spirits), a similar state of uneasiness in his mind, which deprives him of all the rich blessings of a holy worship, and this, especially, when he hears in the sermon, as is frequently the case, the most loathsome and repulsive falsities.

In confirmation of what we have here stated, we will adduce the following declaration from Swedenborg's "Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church :" "The faith of the New Church cannot by any means be together with the faith of the former Church, and that, in case they be together, such a collision and conflict will ensue as to destroy everything relating to the Church in man." (n. 102.) We have not space to adduce what is said in the following number, in confirmation and illustration of this declaration, but we earnestly recommend it to the perusal of our correspondent.

As to what is said respecting debts contracted in building places of worship, our correspondent should remember that many of the churches and chapels built in the Church of England, and among the Nonconformists, are liable to a similar occurrence. It is, therefore, not peculiar to places of worship in the New Church, most of which, we believe, are exempt from debt. Nor ought any complaint on this ground to be alleged, when the debt is justly and honourably contracted, and its conditions faithfully observed. EDITOR.

Poetry.

THE MESSAGE.

I cried aloud-" There is no GOD for me!"
Dark doubts and dull despair had poisoned life,
And all within was anarchy and gloom,-
Ill-omened forms of night held council there,
And shrieked in clanging discord. Shadows grim,
Offspring of night, eclipsed the mid-day sun,
And bound the spirit's eyes with blackest bands
Of falsehood, woven in the lowest hells!

Vain every effort! Vain alike all prayer!
Heaven saw fit to leave me to myself,
And thus I stood alone in my despair!

But oft, at times, was heard a still small voice-
"Obedience." Yet unwilling, unconvinced,

told us he had no peace in the church, on account of spirits, who contradicted what the preacher said, especially when he spoke of three Persons in the Godhead, which amounted, in reality, to three Gods."

With sullen lip and lowering brow, in prayer
I knelt me down. Sheer mockery it seemed,
And yet, despite myself, I would obey.

Jealous, I watched each thought,-each task performed
With promptest diligence, but with a proud,
Defiant heart, that would in question call
E'en the Most High, and felt itself aggrieved:
But still each day I bent me down in prayer,—
No sound, not e'en a sentiment was there
But the unbaring of my soul's despair!

At length a sob-a piteous stream of tears
Burst from my frozen heart-impatient still.
Lord, if thou canst, why wilt thou not relieve?
Oh, give me but some token for my peace-
Not, as in bye-gone days, to mortal eye
Made visible; no dew-besprinkled fleece
I ask, as Gideon; nor that heav'n-sent fire
That burned the altars at Elijah's call;-
But let me feel thy presence and thy care,
That I am not alone in my despair!"

Of kindred blood to one most near to me-
An exile from the dearer ties of home,
In foreign lands had laid him down to die.
Alas! I thought it hard that he should close
His eyes with stranger faces all around,
Or, worse, far worse to me, perchance alone!
I pictured him through livelong sleepless nights
Of fevered pain; I heard his feeble plaint-

66

Oh, mother, mother, 'tis too hard to die!"

Her, too, I pictured, but what words can paint
The desolation of that broken heart!

Scarce had she raised her head from off the grave
Of her fair lily-her sweet garden flower-
Her Gracey-her delight! Poor mother!
And this but gave another shade of gloom
To my repinings. More rebellious still,
And with a heart on fire, I questioned now
The right to take what had been freely given.
Obedience," still the whisper in my ear;

66

Doing and praying-ever in the act,

But lacking warmth of love and charity.

This lad had grievous faults, nor few nor light;

And some, who thought they knew him best,

Whose coarser minds-whose sensual eye could see

Only the outer actions of his life

These, in their charitable wisdom said

""Twere best the lad's career were thus cut short."

But he had virtues many, great, and rare

These were the man-the faults but the defects
That riper wisdom would have cast aside.
Turn to his better self, and here behold
His never-failing kindness-his warm love-
Remembering ever those whose care for him

In childhood had been shown. His poor old nurse-
How often has he cheered her heart, and brought

The happy tears into her honest eyes;

No pride, nor that false shame of youth were his,
And he would take her out to walk or drive,

[Enl. Series.-No. 62, vol. vi.]

F

And tell her all his hopes and all his plans;
Then he would leave her happy-blessing him.
And I could tell a touching tale of love
Shown to a friendless orphan cast-away,
When sailing from his native land. No home
Had this poor boy, nor where to lay his head;
So, like the good Samaritan of old,

Our lost one poured the oil into his wounds,
Cheered his sad heart, and bade him journey on.
Deeds like to these I could recount enough,

For many such were of his daily life,

That never reached beyond the sphere wherein
They were enacted. Surely these are they

Whose left hand knows not what the right hand does.

That easy charity the rich man boasts,

Who gives of his abundance, costs no pain
Of self-denial. This did the Pharisees,
And verily they had their own reward.
And I was pondering still upon his fate
And all its sad belongings, when there came
Fresh tidings, telling of the lad's last hour,—
They told of peace-of his last-uttered words-
"Gracey, I come!" Oh, why e'en now again
Does the quick blood rush back upon my heart!
Oh God! Oh God! how wondrous are thy ways!
Not all the learning of the priest could shew
The teaching of those simple words to me:
My prayer is answered-Thou hast willed it so.
"Gracey, I come!" And the poor boy stretched out
His feeble hand, and thus was led away,
Gazing on those well-remembered features,
Once so familiar, now so glorified!

They journeyed on together, hand in hand,
Into those realms of light where angels dwell.
And now the scales have fallen from off his eyes,
And he beholds the greater joys of heaven,-
The joys of angels never wearied-
Ministering ever in their charity!

Poor boy! and thus he stands before the pure,
With downcast eyes, apart, but not alone;
His sister is still with him, and her hand
Clasps his; her loving lips breathe out anon-
"I am thy guardian angel; fear not thou,
Thy sins were never in thee. Tempters dark

Worked through thy senses, but ne'er reached thy heart.

And thus in mercy, for thou wast so weak,

The Lord hath snatched thee from their power,-thou'rt free! And for a time 'tis mine, oh, happy task!

To teach thee wisdom, and to make thee strong!"

The dream was o'er, and I arose subdued,
In shame, in gratitude, in awe,-
No more to walk alone, but with my God,
Whose very presence was so surely felt:
His Spirit, with the healing on its wing,
Had shed o'er me its holy influence.
"Gracey, I come!" sweet words, that linger still,
And breathe new hope, new life into my soul.
To me that sister's message has come home---
Sure GoD is with me! I am not alone!