and their public. Roman Catholicism, now that its teeth are drawn, and its claws cut, and its nakedness delicately draped, is patronized and patted on the back, and called a comely beast. Some virtue is discovered in Unitarianism, and the Mormons are considered passable in spite of murders and multifarious matrimony. But fling the faintest whisper of Swenden borgianism on the wind, and there is a hum and murmur among the "hoi polloi"-learned and foolish, married and single, washed and unwashed, jabbering and stammering, flouting and shouting, groaning and weeping, holding their breath and gathering up their garments as though a pestilence passed by that way. There is, however, now, as there always has been in the history of the world, a residue who have not bowed the knee to Baal; whose minds are open to receive God's truth, and whose hearts are right to reverence virtue." But the style of this paragraph will doubtless lead the reader onward, and he will soon find a more solid mode of conducting the argument in favour of Swedenborg. After giving a succinct account of the early life and scientific labours of Swedenborg, he proceeds to a beautiful and poetic illustration of the work on the Worship and Love of God. A poet himself of no mean order, Mr. Fletcher sums up his opinion of this work in the following words : "We find here a description of the education of the first man, of the creation, education, and marriage of Eve: the whole being an allegory of a six day's work. The boldness of this conception of a genesis is equalled by the logical precision with which it is carried out, and the poetical beauty with which it is described." Concluding the life of Swedenborg as a philosopher, we have this fine paragraph: : "Beginning at the smallest facts--the humblest appearances of nature, he worked his way up to the crown and coping stone, and bowed with adoration in the outer courts of eternity. He swept the circle of the sciences with a patient, unflagging energy; and had he stopped at this point he would be remembered as a 'son of flame and a star for ever shining in the firmament of fame.' "With Plato, and Aristotle, and Newton he would have sat down upon the loftiest throne; and his memory, like theirs, through the flight of ages, would have been a household word, a beacon, and a tower of strength. His philosophy has been improved upon and his discoveries supplemented: but in his own day he was the leader of his age-the captain of the free lances who fought their way into the citadel of truth. He is the representative man of that century-the shaft that was shot the farthest from the bow: he was the culmination of all past truth; and in him were shadowed forth, though darkly, the flashing glories of the future. He is the keystone of the arch that connects the coming with the gone: and every advance in art, every discovery in science, every new phase of truth, every additional development of nature, as it rises in orbed beauty to fill its place in God's great plan and universe, bears silent witness to the truth and power of him who is one of earth's master spirits adds one other stone to the arch of glory which the ages are rearing round the memory of Emanuel Swedenborg." Mr. Fletcher now enters upon the labours of Swedenborg as a theologian, from his call to the conclusion of his natural existence; giving a brief outline of the doctrine of the Lord, of the Trinity, and of the science of correspondence, and concludes his lecture with the following splendid passage: "Through the trackless paths of time, and the tremendous solitudes of eternity, he pursued his way with a courage that never quailed, and a wing that never tired. His brain never reeled as the nations of the damned rose, rank on rank, in all the ghastly splendour of unfading fire; and his eye never blenched as the long line of sapphire palaces flashed back upon his vision the unutterable glories of Deity. He was of all men I have met with, the calmest, wisest, deepest. He was a profound scholar, a true Christian, a loyal subject, a magnificent poet, an unrivalled philosopher, and a little child. He has dissolved the darkness that brooded over the Book of Life, and from the tangled web-work of sectarian speculation he has given us again the Word of God. Swept by his fingers, the cathedral organ of the universe, so long silent, has again sent forth a symphony, the reverberations of which are ringing yet in floating notes, and dying falls along the hills of time. He has touched with his magician's wand the dark waters of death, and they sparkle with the scintillations of immortality. He has flung a bridge across the baseless, boundless chasm which separated the present from the to-come, and brought us to an innumerable company of angels, to the church of the first-born, to the spirits of the just made perfect, and to our Redeemer, Father, God. He has elevated woman to her true position, and set once and for ever the perfect music unto noble words.' He has built up the desecrated temple of marriage, relit heaven's fire upon its sacred shrine, and round about the porch engraved the sign and seal of heaven. "Wider than Wesley, deeper than Whitfield, truer than Luther, he is the last great captain of the church militant; and as the army with their bloodflecked banners and their dinted armour defile across the bridge of death, and range themselves, rank on rank, for the grand review by the Lord of Hosts; among the foremost, with peace within his eye, and on his brow the morning star, shall stand the calm, the cloudless, the unconquerable spirit of Emanuel Swedenborg." We trust we have said enough to induce our readers to purchase this lecture, and to recommend their friends to do likewise. We should like to see it circulated by thousands. We only wish it was published at a penny instead of fourpence; it is worth any money, but we would like to see a copy in every poor man's cottage. Gbituary. D.G.G. Died at Stoke on Trent, on the 22nd of November, 1858, in the 62nd year of his Sage, Mr. John Perkins. He was a member of the New Church for more than thirty years, having first joined the Church at Derby, and was much edified under the ministry of the late Mr. Madeley, for whose memory he enter tained the highest respect. Afterwards, Mr. Perkins removed to Stoke, in the Staffordshire Potteries. In conjunction with the late Mr. Tideswell, and a few others, he formed a small society in Longton, of which, after the death of Mr. Tideswell, he was leader, until he was obliged to resign from failing health. His zeal in imparting to others those divine truths from which he derived so much consolation himself, was at all times unremitting; his attachment to them grew stronger by every year's experience; they were to him a theme of joy through many years of health, they were to him a comfort and support through three years of painful affliction. His hand and heart were ever open to the wants of others. He delighted in being useful; his open, frank, and generous demeanour gave him friends wherever he went. He was held in the highest esteem by the Church in Longton. He lived and practised those truths he taught to others. His end was peace. S. M. Died, January 13th, 1859, in the 52nd year of his age, at his house, Vineyards, Bath, in which city he was born, Mr. William Noble, writing master. His talent also as a general instructor of youth was of the first class, and during the whole period of his life, his indefatigable exertions for his pupils' welfare, and his gentle manners, endeared him to all. From his youth to the age of 25 years, he remained a respected member of the Established Church of England. About this period the lucid and magnificent truths of the New Dispensation were presented to his notice, and being then in a state of moral good, a Nathaniel "sitting under the fig-tree," the good Father saw, and by one of his messengers called him, when he straightway rose and came at once to the living Vine, and readily, and with thankfulness, plucked the ruddy fruit. From seeing men as trees walking, his vision being released of the films of the Old Church labyrinthine perplexities, like Cæsar, he came, he saw, and conquered, even to every latent prejudice. Since this most happy event, he has laboured through good and evil report in the grand and glorious cause, and many are the proofs of his success in opening the eyes of the blind seekers after truth for its own sake. His life was, in fact, an exponent of his faith in the doctrine of life of the New Jerusalem Dispensation, and his soul has departed enshrined by the sorrows and the blessings of the many. I had the pleasure of his acquaintance from his 18th year, and am able to certify of his heart's worth. His transit was sudden, from a disease of the heart; but I cannot but imagine that his peace will be eternal, in that the Holy Word, the transcript of the Divine Himself, gives this utterance-"The soul that liveth and believeth on me shall never die." W. B. Mr. John Kingwell Bragge, of Bristol, was happily removed into the spiritual world on the 8th of February, at Weston-super-Mare, at the age of 72 years. The immediate cause of dissolution was congestion of the brain. For two years previously our venerated and dear brother had suffered under a suspension of rational thought. He was privileged from his childhood in being taught and led in the truths and life of the New Church. He was born in Birmingham, where his father and mother, together with his maternal grandfather and two aunts, received with joy the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem in the year 1791. In the year 1793, his father went with his family to New York, and in his house in the year 1794, was held the first assembly for New Church worship ever held in that city. His father died there, and his mother returned to England with her family in the year 1796. It was in Bristol our brother resided the greater part of his life. He, when about to advance from the rule of his parent, to be responsible to his heavenly Father, asked his mother to allow him to attend the Old Church in public worship, giving at her request his reason for his wish. He became a zealous teacher in the Sunday-school at St. James' Church in Bristol, under the ministrations of the Rev. T. T. Biddulph, whose likeness he had hung up in his study as a memento of his affection for so worthy a man. As time advanced the period came round when the latent truths which had been instilled into his mind by the fondest love and care of a mother's keen perception, began to stand forth for the observation of the rational mind, and he from his own love, earnestly set to work in reading carefully the writings of the Lord's servant, Swedenborg. He rose from their study confirmed in his opinion of their hea venly origin and invaluable worth in leading him to practical Christianity. But it was not until the society now holding its public worship in Lodge street was formed, that he became an openly acknowledged member of the New Church. This occurred in the year 1845. Those who composed that little band will recollect with delight the first evening visit of our venerated father. Although he knew everything relating to New Church matters, he did not then see the necessity for separation from the Old Church, and he thought more good might be done by mixing with its professors and teaching them the new truths. He was soon convinced, however, that the New Jerusalem could not come down from God out of heaven to him so long as he repelled its outward open manifestation. He searched out the particular motive which kept him from resting it upon the earth, and then bid a lasting farewell to its dominion. For many years he was leader of this society, and his zeal for its purity and integrity was never allowed to be submerged for the sake of natural ease and comfort. He loved to know his duty; and when known, he loved to do it. What fluent talker of the New Church truths that was ever brought in contact with this good man, but always felt some restraint put upon the tongue, when the great superiority of doing was so clearly traced by him whose very love was in the work? The inner work of purification was the grand substratum of the man, and his whole life seemed bent upon its attainment. Many valuable papers of his will be found in the Repository, under the sign of three stars and his own initials. His quiet labours of love are well known to the Swedenborg Society. Few knew his doings except they saw or felt them. He contributed to the last revision of the Conjugial Love, and also to the last edition of the Arcana Coelestia. He was personally acquainted with many of the fathers of the New Church, whom no doubt he has met again with much rejoicing. As a just tribute to his memory, represent to yourself the sterling qualities of a New Churchman, and embody them in living actuality; thus you may form some idea of him around whom the Lord has put his golden girdle, and whom he has gathered to our fathers. Bristol, March 14, 1859. H. I. B. CAVE and SEVER, Printers, Palatine Buildings, Hunt's Bank, Manchester. THE doctrine of "Substitution," as arising from the doctrine of the supposed Vicarious Sacrifice of the second Person in the Trinity, is now the central point of the creed of modern orthodoxy. It is the fortress and the defence of many false doctrines, which cannot be removed from the church and from the human mind until this fortress is destroyed, and levelled with the dust. In order to shew how prevalent and universal this doctrine of "Substitution" has become, we will adduce the following extract from the most popular preacher of the day: If any man here (says the Rev. Mr. Spurgeon) should be in doubt on account of ignorance, let me state as plainly as I can the Gospel. I believe it to be wrapped up in one word,—Substitution. I have always considered with Luther and Calvin, that the substance of the Gospel lies in that word Substitution, that is, Christ standing in the stead of man. If I understand the Gospel, it is this:- I deserve to be lost and ruined; the only reason why I should not be damned is this:-Christ was punished in my stead, and there is no need to execute sentence twice for sin. Christ took the cup in both his hands, and at one tremendous draught of love He drank damnation dry." This declaration respecting Substitution, as the "substance" of the Gospel, proclaimed by the most popular preacher of the day, comes with an authority respecting a doctrine which comparatively few, we believe, will be willing to gainsay or to reject. It appears to be a necessary outgrowth of the doctrine of three Persons in the Trinity, and it has been more or less openly avowed and believed since that doctrine was established in the church. It is also intimately connected with the doctrine of “Justification by Faith only," which, both amongst Roman Catholics as well [Enl. Series.-No. 66, vol. vi.] as amongst Protestants, is an essential element of the prevailing theology. In Roman Catholic theology it lies comparatively concealed in the system of external observances, but in that of the Protestants it is brought prominently out. This doctrine of "Substitution," notwithstanding its so-called orthodoxy and its popularity, is nevertheless in itself unscriptural, irrational, and fraught with immense evil to the church and to the human race. So long as it is maintained in the manner above described in the language of Mr. Spurgeon, and so long as it exerts any influence on the human mind, it will be impossible for the church and for the individual to make any progress in the wisdom of salvation. It is a black and a direful falsity, which so long as it is tolerated will obstruct the light of the Sun of Righteousness from shining on the mind, and destroy all spiritual and heavenly intelligence from the Word in the church. We cannot characterize it by any milder terms, and war ought to be declared against it, as Israel was commanded to declare war against Amalek, "until his name should be blotted out from under heaven." On what, then, is this doctrine of Substitution founded? Assuredly not on the Word of God, which is the only foundation, as well as the only source of all Christian doctrine. Neither is it founded on any perception of the rational mind; for human reason revolts at the idea, and can see no truth in such a doctrine, in which all its common perceptions of right and wrong are violated. This doctrine of "Substitution" is nothing but a relic of ancient superstitions, embodied in various forms of Pagan mythology, in which the wrath of the gods, it might be of Moloch or of Jupiter, was supposed to be appeased, and the penalties of outraged justice to be averted from a people, because some human victim had been immolated as a sacrifice to the offended deity in the stead of the people or of the individual who deserved the punishment. This is, indeed, the origin of the doctrine, although it will be said by Mr. Spurgeon and others, that however irrational and revolting it may appear to us, it is nevertheless a fact revealed in the Scriptures; and although we cannot understand its reasonableness, we are still bound to believe it. But we deny that it is a fact revealed in the Word ;-far from it;—and, therefore, we are not bound to believe it. But future and more enlightened generations will place this doctrine of "Substitution" by the side of those ancient and revolting superstitions which caused the nations of Canaan, prior to their expulsion by the people of Israel, to sacrifice their sons to Moloch, (Lev. xx. 2—5; Deut. xii. 31.) with a view to appease his wrath, and by such a vicarious sacrifice to effect an atonement between themselves and their incensed deity. This certainly is a |