To whatever stage of spiritual progress, therefore, thou mayest have attained—be it a knowledge and acknowledgment of the Divine Word in its letter merely, the knowledge of some spiritual truths, the opening of the rational mind to an understanding of them, or the still further stage of progress, a love of those truths and the Lord whom they represent; whether thou or the writer be in one or in the other, or in all these stages of regenerate life, let us seriously consider the import of the above questions, and their application to ourselves personally. We know that every step of our progress is a conflict with the powers of darkness,—that every new truth or stage of spiritual progress we attain, though it is designed by a good providence to aid us onward, is at the same time liable to be converted by the enemy which lies deeply intrenched in our own hearts, into an antagonist to new and higher truths. On the attainment of a new truth, or higher aspects of truth, we are too prone to suffer the pride of self-derived intelligence to usurp the place that should be given to humble gratitude; and to settle down resting in selfish exultation, and rise again to action, only in opposition to the development of some higher truth, through the medium of a brother more deeply humble than ourselves, unless it should please Providence, in the meantime, to save us from our selfish lethargy, by some trying vicissitude to our external man. And may we not see that something like this is very apt to form a part of the history of those who have seemed to have the fountain of spiritual life opened to them? Perhaps we can distinctly see the error we deplore in many others, and if so, let this admonish us to search critically for it in ourselves. If we can look round and see many who profess to acknowledge the authority of the Word, and of the writings of Swedenborg, and, having obtained a tolerable acquaintance with them, sufficient, perhaps, to satisfy their antagonism to the dogmas of the Old Church, and their intellectual vanity, are contented to settle down with now and then a glance at them, but remain comparatively insensible to the infinite importance of going statedly and punctually day by day to them, as means not only of gaining more knowledge, but of bringing the mind into the sphere of spiritual life—of becoming more loosened from self and sense, that we may be more fully united to the angels, and conjoined to the Lord;-let them serve as a beacon to us. The writer is fully aware that he shall himself be found amongst the delinquents, and not insensible to the effort which faithfulness to our best interest requires of us in this case, and he is quite as sure that to rest satisfied with any attainable degree of spiritual progress, is most unsafe. To this every true receiver of the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church will doubtless agree, and also that his happiness and his safety require, that he should add to a faithful observance of the precepts of the Word, the practice of statedly resorting to its pages, and to those also which unfold its spiritual contents. Let us, then, be true to ourselves, that we may be the best possible mediums of good to others. Z. H. THE TRUE READING OF GEN. XLIX. 6. TO THE EDITOR. SIR,-I was much pleased with the manner in which you have cleared up, as to the literal sense, the passage in Isaiah ix. 1. in your February number; this sense, being the basis of the spiritual, must be distinctly seen in order to have a correct spiritual perception of the internal sense of the Holy Word. You will oblige by explaining how it is that there is so great a difference in the reading of the latter clause of verse 6 in Gen. xlix. between our common version and the rendering of Swedenborg; the former reads-" And in their self-will they digged down a wall;" but the latter,-" In their good pleasure they unstrung an ox." Now this has appeared to me so great a variation in the reading, that I have often wondered how this can be reconciled with our author's declaration that the Word has, through the Lord's Providence, been preserved in its integrity. I shall therefore be glad to learn on what grounds the translators of our common version, which, I have always understood, is, in the main, very correct, have given us the above rendering so entirely different from that of Swedenborg. I am, yours, &c. London. C. P. We are glad that our correspondent has called our attention to these variations in the rendering of the Sacred Text, as no doubt many must have thought it strange that there should be so great a difference. The Hebrew is literally as rendered by Swedenborg-" In bene placito suo enervarunt bovem;" how, then, has arisen the difference between his rendering and that of the common version? The term for ox is (shor), but the term for wall is (shur), with this only difference, that the point in the former case is over the middle letter, and in the latter within it; hence the difference of pronunciation. Now, as the points are not coeval with the text, it is probable that some copies might have read shor an ox, and others shur a wall, and hence the door for various reading was opened in ancient times; by far the greater number of MSS., however, read shor an ox, and not shur. But the predicate 1py (ikroo), signifies as its radical meaning to pluck or root up; but in the Piel form, as in the present case, it is always employed to denote the houghing or ham-stringing of a horse, by which the animal is rendered useless and unfit for work. This was formerly, and is still the custom in war, that when horses or camels captured by the enemy cannot be carried away, it is usual to ham-string them, that they may be useless. In this sense it is used in Joshua xi. 6, 9., 2 Sam. viii. 4., 1 Chron. xviii. 4 ; and in the passage before us it is employed in reference to the cattle of Hamor and Shechem, when the sons of Jacob went up to be avenged on the Hivites. (See Gen. xxxiv.) The Greek version of the LXX. renders it as Swedenborg, evevpoketnσav tov tavрov, “They hamstrung the oxen;" and this version is adopted by Luther, Schmidius, and many others; although it must not be concealed that the other rendering, adopted in our common version, is supported by several translations both ancient and modern; in order, however, to support this version, they must go to the Syriac for the meaning of py (akar).* The term good pleasure, instead of self will, need not appear strange, since the good pleasure of an evil man is his self-will. Before concluding this explanation, we beg to offer a remark on the relation of the spiritual to the literal sense. It will be admitted, we think, by those who have considered the subject, that the same series of spiritual truths can be revealed and delivered through various correspondences, so that the letter of the Word, in delivering the same class of truths, may vary. Now, if in the present case we may suppose that both versions are correct, although so greatly differing from each other as to the literal sense, yet the correspondences in both cases will equally serve as a basis for the spiritual sense. Thus the subject is "the destruction of external good which is of charity;" (see A. C. 6357.) by the ox, is denoted external good, or the good of the external man; and by "houghing the muscles of the leg of the ox," is signified the weakening and destruction of external good. Now suppose the be read as passage in the common version; the wall, by correspondence, denotes good and truth in ultimates, supporting and defending, similar to the strong sinew or tendon in the leg of an ox. And to " dig through the wall," or to make a breach in it, is to weaken and destroy external goodness and truth, thus answering to the "houghing of the sinew of the ox." EDITOR. * See the Lexicon of Castellio, and the Syriac Chrestomath of Michaelis. 150 Poetry. A MINISTERIAL EXPOSTULATION, Addressed to late Comers to Worship. Our God and Father, from his glorious throne A little less indulgence in the bed,- A little more devotion in the mind,- Suppose an earthly prince should condescend `Should any plead-they have so far to come,- I grant, lest I should seem to be severe, But such will not, I really must infer, Among the prudent very oft occur; And when they do, to come they should endeavour;— To come though late-is better far than-never. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. ATTACK ON THE NEW CHURCH AT WINCHESTER. The Peculiar Doctrines of the New Jerusalemites, by the Rev. William Thorn, Winchester. The above is the title of a tract containing an attack on our doctrines, written, according to the author's statement, in consequence of the opening of a New Church place of worship in Winchester. This event took place some months since; how long this pamphlet has been in existence we are unable to say, as there is no date to it, and it came into our hands by accident. Like most other attacks on the church, it consists entirely of a tissue of flimsy and oft-refuted fallacies, which the merest tyro in our doctrines would immediately detect. The head and front of Swedenborg's offending, according to Mr. Thorn, is that he asserts his having been made the medium of a new dispensation of divine truth, which the rev. gentleman appears to consider as sufficient of itself to condemn all that he has written. We should, however, remark, that he repeats the stale objection (which he ought to have known had been refuted over and over again by Clowes, Hindmarsh, Noble, and others), grounded on Swedenborg's not performing miracles in proof of his mission; and reiterates the fallacy, so prevalent, that all the writers of the Scriptures gave miraculous proofs of their mission. It would be well if the hint of the apostle, "Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?" were more attended to by those who set themselves up for "guides of the blind, and instructors of the foolish ;" and by those, too, who pretend to teach the silly admirers" of Swedenborg, as Mr. Thorn courteously styles us. Had he made himself only acquainted with the subjects he writes about, he would have known that more than one-half of the inspired writers wrought no miracles, and ought therefore, if his position be a sound one, to be no longer received as accredited messengers from God. He also objects to the doctrines taught by Swedenborg; but the only ground of his objections is, that they do not agree with views he and his party hold; and this he calls "sustaining to the entire satisfaction of every sincere and intelligent believer in the doctrines of the New Testament," that Swedenborg and "his followers are infidels and apostates." (Page 6.) He objects that we deny The Trinity of Persons; Salvation through Christ's Death; The Atonement, and Justification by Faith alone; the Resurrection of the Material Body; that Angels and Spirits were created such; and the Imputed Merits of Christ. These, we presume, he classes among "the plain and demonstrable doctrines of the New Testament;" so plain indeed does he appear to consider them, that he does not condescend to offer any proof in their favour. Now this is the very point we deny. We deny that they are the doctrines of the Scripture; and here Mr. Thorn ought to have joined issue with the New Church, instead of assuming that he is right, which is a mere begging of the question. The plain declarations of the New Testament, as we read them, stand in direct antagonism to this writer; the former declare that the Lord and the Father are one,- "I and my Father are ONE;" (John x. 30.) the latter holds that they are Two: the former again affirms that Jesus Christ is the TRUE GOD, and eternal life, (John v. 20.) that he is "the ONLY wise God, and our Saviour," (Jude 25.) and that "in him dwelleth ALL the fulness of the Godhead bodily;" (Col. ii. 9.) the latter believes that there are two others having equal claims to be regarded as "the True God," the "Only Wise God and Saniour," and to "all the fulness of God!" Mr. Thorn again charges us with denying salvation through Christ's death. The doctrine of the Scripture is that we are saved by the impartation of |