and under what circumstances, there is the question. Now, to define the place, is evidently impossible; for no express revelation has been made upon the subject, and without revelation we can know nothing. I say, no specific revelation has been made; not forgetting that in a parable, (the solemn import of which is impressed from childhood upon the heart of every one who hears it,-which is among those portions of Scripture that are never effaced from the memories of those by whom they have once been read,) we hear of two who died; the rich man, who was arrayed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day;'the beggar 'full of sores,' and sharing with the dogs the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: and we find the one opening his eyes in hell, being in torments; the other carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. This, however, we consider not to fix the locality, but to define and to determine the circumstance of the disembodied and separate state of existence. Whether the locality of hell be the central concavity of earth; or whether it be some distant planet, revolving round a remoter sun; or whether it be, as some have imagined, a vast portentous comet, now advancing within the range of the sun's intolerable heat, now tracking its eccentric course where intense cold annihilates all mortal existence; is not a question of importance; or, if it were, no one could decide it. What we are concerned to know is this: the wrath of God, developed to a conscious and intelligent existence, would make any spot, within the infinite of space, the locality of hell. And it is possible, yea, it is as probable as any other hypothesis, that the place of guilt may also be the place of punishment; and that, were our eyes opened, we might see the squalid or the stately receptacles of villainy, where the gambler has staked his patrimony on the cast of a die, or the turn of a card; where the drunkard has breathed out accents of defiance of God and insult to man; where the seducer has whispered his deceit in the ear of his confiding victim, and she, again, changed from a victim to a tempter, has revenged upon all the sex the injury done by one, spreading toils and snares for them that go down to the pit; it is possible, that the scenes where the voluptuary spread his intoxicating banquet, and the infidel philosopher hatched his demon-plot against the faith of mankind, and the felon, surrounded by his associates, urged on to darker villainy those who were practising an apprenticeship to crime; nay, it is possible, that the very home, which witnessed the undutifulness of a froward child, or the fatal negligence of ungodly parents, or the excesses of a daughter's vanity, or the shameless prodigality of an extravagant son, who gratified his voluptuous habits at the expense of all that ought to be endeared by affection and hallowed by duty;-it is possible that, were our eyes opened, we might see hell in such places all around us; for we know that while we live in the commission of sin, we have hell within us. It is possible, then, that wherever a deadly sin has been committed-a sin not washed away by the blood of Christ;—and wherever a systematic course of sin, of alienation from God, has been pursued; there is the penal abode, there is the local hell of some guilty spirit,there is the very place, where, by one special act above all others, or by one systematic course of crime, the fire was kindled into existence that shall never be quenched, and the worm quickened into being that shall never die. Equally possible, too, is the converse of all this; so that the departed wife, or child, or friend, for ought we can tell, may be among the ministering spirits' who minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.' But be this as it may, the parable proves, beyond all doubt, the consciousness, the immediate, the uninterrupted consciousness, of the soul." Of the hundreds who heard this discourse delivered, and the thou. sands who will probably read it, now it is published, few, it is presumed, would object to the ideas suggested in it, respecting the nearness of the spiritual world; while the majority would esteem them as sound and excellent. Yet, such is the strange inconsistency of sectarian prejudice, tell them that these ideas are true; that the Lord has vouchsafed, to a chosen servant, ocular demonstration of the fact, that the spiritual world is nigh to us, being only within the sphere of nature, and thus, that it is a solemn fact, "that the place of guilt is also (in a certain sense) the place of punishment:" not one, in all probability, would listen with patience to the statement, but each, according to his peculiar disposition, would either smile in silent contempt, or join in the cry, "He hath a devil and is mad, why hear ye him?" There can, however, we should think, be but one opinion among those who have been enabled to see and appreciate the truth of the wonderful things related by Swedenborg respecting the "spirit's land," in reference to the circumstance "of individuals giving a favourable reception to certain opinions as propounded hypothetically by their respective teachers, while they unhesitatingly reject, and denounce as false, the very same opinions, if stated as true, or even advanced as probable, by one, not of " their communion." It is thus "that the generality of men have not yet ventured to think from the understanding upon the spiritual subjects brought before them by their * It is not published in a separate form: it is contained in No. 772, of a Periodical called the "Pulpit." a de authorized teachers, and, therefore, give a ready credence to whatever they propound as the truth: but if another, not in their judgment duly authorized, advance opinions not manifestly contained in "their standards of faith," their understanding, as formed by their creeds, instantly stands on the defensive, and the setter forth of "strange doctrines," as he is denominated, is guarded against as "an enemy," and stroyer of souls:" although the doctrine he advances may be percisely the same, though, perhaps, a little more clearly stated, as that which they admire and extol as grand and edifying, when taught by their own "favourite preachers," and which, also, is not only not manifestly contained in "their standards of faith," but is clearly, not contained in them at all. It must then, tend, in some small degree, to the more general reception of the truths of the New Church, if, when preachers or writers of the Old Church are known to have advanced, to their hearers or readers, sentiments upon religious subjects in accordance with genuine truth, the members of the New Church were to point out the agreement between those sentiments which the hearers and readers of the orthodox preacher and writer regard as sound and excellent, and those views, which, because advanced by Swedenborg, and believed on in the New Church, are considered, without the trouble of reflection, as necessarily false. By thus having the sentiments they profess to admire placed in juxta-position with the views they have regarded as false, they will be compelled to think with the understanding; and, where the will does not blind its perception, it must discern and acknowledge the likeness. Such, we hope, may be the tendency of the extract forming the body of this paper; but if it should not, it will, at least, stand as evidence of the truth of what Swedenborg has related respecting" the place of the departed;" as, indeed, are all approximations to the same truth which are now frequently made by "men of repute," in the various sections of the old church for the appearance of a shadow proves the substance to be not far off. It may be, that the shadow conveys but an imperfect idea of the magnitude of the substance, because this must depend upon the nearness or remoteness of the light: but it proves incontestably, that the substance is, and that there is light shining upon it. Be it our care, then, steadily to avoid, in our conduct, whatever would obscure the light of truth, and thus prevent the appearance of even a shadow: rather let us co-operate with the Lord, in allowing him to constitute us "reflecting mediums," that, by us, the light may be adapted to the various states of recipiency among mankind. So will the prediction, made by our blessed Lord to Nathanael, be realized even among us: for we shall see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man: that is, in a spiritual idea, we shall perceive that the heavenly world is so near to us, that an uninterrupted intercourse is kept up with it by means of the Holy Word; that by that Word we can communicate with heaven, and heaven with us; and thus be enabled to realize the truth of the position, that " all beyond is substance." Номо. STATE OF THE NEW CHURCH NEAR SCARBOROUGH. (Extract of a Letter from Mr. R. Storry, of Pickering, Yorkshire.) I AVAIL myself of an opportunity, which has just presented, of commu. nicating, for the information of the Missionary Committee, an account of the state of the New Church at two of the villages in the neighbourhood of Scarborough. The first of these is Hutton-Bushel. The removal to this village, last summer, of our friend, Mr. T. Bye, for the benefit of his health; his subsequent departure into the spiritual world; the performance of religious services in compliance with his desire, and of others subsequently to his decease; have had the effect of producing an apparently lasting impression, in favour of the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem, on the minds of seve ral inhabitants of the village. Since Mr. B.'s departure, I have been frequently invited to visit them, and have on two or three occasions complied with their desire. The second is Wykeham, situated within a mile of the one to which I have already alluded. The removal to this village of one of the friends from Pickering, and the reception of the doctrines by a respected member of the Wesleyan Methodist Society, have produced considerable excitement, and led to much inquiry respecting the doctrines, attended with an anxious desire to read the New-Church books. In compliance with the wishes of the friends at these villages, I paid a Missionary visit at Hutton-Bushel on the evening of Tuesday the 21st instant (June). We had the pleasure of wit nessing the attendance, at this service, of several who had attended all the services which had previously been held at the village. The friends who have received the doctrines have already procured some of the works, which are read with avidity. But these are wholly insufficient to supply their neighbours who wish to read. I am of opinion, that in no case which has yet come under my observation, would a supply of tracts from your Society be more acceptable, or, in all probability, more useful. OF VISIT, BY MR. WOODMAN, BRIGHTLINGSEA, TO SNAPE, BENHALL, AND COLCHESTER. (Extracts from a Letter from Mr. Woodman, dated 12th of August, 1837.) DURING my stay in Ipswich, I endeavoured to promote the objects of my visit as far as circumstances would allow, and accordingly left some tracts with two or three individuals, in whom there appears to be a ground for reception. On my arrival at Snape, I was informed by Mr. Licence, that they had been wishing for a missionary for some time, and had on the Sabbath previous entered into the arrangements for his accommodation. It is gratifying to find the little Society there gradually and steadily increasing. Mr. Licence continues to officiate as leader, in which he is assisted by Mr. Knights; and it is pleasing to find that the little flock derive both satisfaction and profit from their labours. The number of members is now fifteen, three of whom were added at their last quarterly meeting. They have commenced the formation of a library, and are very anxious to obtain the Arcana Cœlestia. At the time I visited them, they were mostly engaged with the hay-a circumstance which rendered it rather inconvenient for lectures in the week. They, however, made arrangements for my preaching on the Thursday evening, when I addressed about thirty, on the sweetening of the bitter waters. For the services on the Sabbath they obtained a larger room. In the morning I addressed about sixty on the na ture of prayer, and the important duties which all who use the Lord's prayer should consider themselves bound to observe. The text was, "Hallowed be thy name." In the evening (when there were nearly one hundred present), by the desire of some of the congregation I offered an explanation of ourviews of the atonement, from the declaration of the angel to Mary, "He shall save his people from their sins." After a few observations on the sole-divinity of Jesus Christ, I endeavoured to remove the erroneous opinion so prevalent with the enemies of the New Church, that we deny the Atonement. I then stated our views on this subject, as embodied in the doctrine and language of St. Paul, and attempted to prove that the object of redemption is, not to take away merely the "guilt of sin," as contended by some, but, as stated in the text, to remove our sins themselves, by purifying the mind from evil. In a short address after the discourse I made a few remarks upon their present situation and prospects; and concluded with admonishing them not to leave NO. XLIX.-VOL. V. their first love. Many strangers were, of course, present, among whom were, the greater part of a Baptist congregation usually assembling for worship in an adjoining house, but who, on the present occasion, had left their pastor with but a scanty number of hearers. I availed myself of the opportunity thus presented of inviting them to examine our doctrines with attention and candour, assuring them they might convince themselves that our views were not what our enemies would fain have them believe. Scarcely had I arrived before I received a letter from Mr. Mattacks, the leader of the Colchester Society, communicating the painful intelligence of the removal of his youngest son into eternity, and requesting me to perform the funeral rites at his interment. I accordingly left Snape early on Monday morning. The funeral took place on Tuesday the 18th, in the Baptist's burial ground, and they kindly accommodated us with the use of their chapel on the occasion. More than one hundred persons were present; and the most profound attention pervaded the assembly. On the Sabbath following I preached in the evening a funeral discourse, in the New Jerusalem Church, Helen's Lane. Although it was not publicly announced, except by notice at the funeral, a larger number of persons attended than had ever before assembled in the chapel to hear the New Church doctrines. Although the delivery of the discourse occupied an hour, the most marked attention was exhibited throughout. After the hymn at the conclusion of the sermon, I made, by Mr. Mattacks's request, a short address for the purpose of correcting some erroneous impressions prevalent in Colchester respecting the nature of our doctrines. The most prominent of these is, that our doctrines are only a modification of Unitarianism. This error I endeavoured to remove, by assuring them that, whilst the Unitarians regard the Lord as a mere man, we worship him as the Only True God; |