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that this was eternal life, to receive and to incorporate into themselves those vital principles. And as the blessed JESUS spake thus in the New Testament, there is every reason to suppose that he adopted a similar mode of speech in the Old, by virtue of which, under natural figures and images, whether of persons of places, or of things, he intended to involve and to express spiritual ideas, and to convey spiritual life.

[To be Continued.]

DICTIONARY OF CORRESPONDENCES.
[Continued from page 390.]

AFFECTION, or love, is what constitutes the life of every person; for whatever the affection is, such is the whole man. There are many varieties of affection: there is the affection of good, and the affection of truth; the affection of evil, and the affection of what is false; the affection of the internal, and the affection of the external man; the affection of knowing, from whence arises the affection of truth; the affection of understanding a thing, from whence arises perception; and the affection of seeing a thing, from whence arises thought: not to mention many other varieties, which are different modifications and states of the same life.

All affection is spiritual heat, and is a continuous emanation of the will, as thought is a continuous emanation of the understanding.

Every man has a predominant affection, which gives him his peculiar character; and whatever that may be when he departs this life, such he will remain forever.

With regard to the affections of good and truth, the case in general is as follows. The genuine affections of good and truth, which come to the perception of man, are all from a divine origin, inasmuch as they all proceed from the Lord: but in their descent from him, they spread into various and different channels, in which they form to themselves, as it were, new origins; for as they flow into affections which are not genuine, even into spurious affections, and into the affections of evil and falsehood in man, they thus become continually varied, if not in their external appearance, yet internally. The only way for a man to know whether his affections be genuine or not, is for himself to examine the ends and motives of his life, for the end in view determines the quality of the whole man. If the object of his affections be the good of his neighbor, the good of society, the good of his country, and still more, if it be the good of the church,

and the good of the Lord's kingdom, then his affections are genuine, being derived from the Lord, and also directed to the Lord; for the Lord's residence in man is principally in the good of love which appertains to the will, and only so far in the truth of faith belonging to his intellect, as the latter is derived from the former. But if the end in view be merely self, or the world, then the affections are not genuine, but evil and spurious, having nothing of the Lord in them, nor of his kingdom. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that a man examine the motives of his life, for hereby he may discover the real quality of his affections; and this he may do by attending to the delight he perceives in himself on being praised or spoken well of, and to the delight he perceives on some good being done to another, wherein he himself has no concern. If the latter delight fills his breast, he may then know that his affection is genuine, and that he is principled in love to the Lord, and in charity to his neighbor. But no man can be a judge of another's state; it is a great thing if he can discover his own; and the Lord says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged; condemn not, that ye be not condemned," Luke, vi. 37; for a thousand persons may appear to be in a similar affection as to good and truth, and yet no two shall be in precisely the same, but the affection of each will be different in its origin, that is, in its end; and, as before observed, it is the end which causes the affection to be either genuine, spurious, or false; for the end in view, or the love, is the very life of man. When the good of our neighbor, the good of the community, the good of the church and of the Lord's kingdom, is the end, then man, as to his soul or spirit, is in the Lord's kingdom, and thus, in the Lord; for the kingdom of the Lord is no other than a kingdom of ends and uses consecrated to the good of the whole huThe angels, who are attendant on man, dwell in these ends; and in proportion as a man is principled therein, in the same degree are the angels delighted with him, and conjoin themselves to him as to a brother; but in proportion as a man is principled in merely selfish ends, in the same proportion the angels recede from him, and evil spirits from hell have access unto him, for in hell nothing but selfish ends predominate. Hence it appears, how highly necessary it is for a man to explore the ends of his life, as hereby alone he can discover the true origin of his affections.

man race.

AFFINITY, differs from consanguinity, in that the former has respect more immediately to faith, or to what is external, and the latter to charity, or what is internal.

The affinities and consanguinities of the natural world do not continue such after death, but are then dissolved. Spiritual affinities are all derived from the marriage of good and truth, according to the degrees and differences of love and faith. In another life it is common enough for the husband and wife, father and son, mother and daughter, brother and sister, to meet together after their decease. If they were dissimilar in their affections of good and truth, they are soon separated, and never see each other again. But if they were alike in this respect, they continue to dwell together, according to the degrees of their similarity. It sometimes happens, that the same husband and wife live together in heaven as such; but this is only where they had before been united in true conjugal love.

A very wonderful circumstance, not unfrequent in the spiritual world, deserves to be noted in this place. If two persons, who are in a similar state of good, meet together, although they had never seen each other before, instantly they become as familiar as if they had been acquainted with each other from their infancy. Such is the instinctive bond of union between all who are in similar affections, which is sometimes witnessed even in the natural world.*

AFFIRMATIVE principle in man, is the first medium of his conjunction with the Lord, and, as it were, the first habitation of influent good. Actual good from the Lord cannot flow into man, while he is in the negative principle, nor even while he is in the doubtful principle, until this latter becomes affirmative; and it becomes affirmative on the commencement of regeneration.

Every person in early life, when he first begins to imbibe goods and truths, is kept by the Lord in the affirmative principle as to the truth of what is said and taught by his parents and masters. This affirmative principle, with such as are capable of becoming spiritual men, is confirmed by scientifics and knowledges; for whatever they learn, which has any connection with such principle, insinuates itself therein, and strengthens it to such a degree But with those who, in as to become their affection and delight.

consequence of their choice of an evil life, do not suffer themselves to be regenerated, the affirmative principle, wherein they were held by the Lord during their childhood, gives way first to doubts, and lastly to the negation of what is good and true. These

* These assertions are proven from the woRD, when understood in its internal or spiritual sense.

latter persons, inasmuch as a negative principle governs all their thoughts, make more of a single scruple, be it ever so trifling, than of a thousand rational arguments tending to confirm the truth; for with such the most trivial scruple or objection is like a grain of sand placed close to their eye, which, although in itself a mere atom or point, yet entirely deprives them of sight. But they who are in the affirmative principle, or they whose thoughts are all influenced thereby, reject the scruples arising from mere fallacies, which would militate against genuine truth; and if there be any difficulties which they do not comprehend, they wave the consideration of them, saying in themselves, What we do not at present understand, we may hereafter. Thus they do not suffer themselves to be withdrawn from the genuine principles of their faith, but remain, as before, in the affection and affirmation of truth.

AFFIRMATION of truth and good, is the first common principle of the church, when faith and charity begins in man; consisting in an acknowledgment of the justice and mercy of the Lord, and that there is such a thing as the good of life, and the holy principle of faith; for until these are acknowledged, they cannot be received. In the person who is about to be regenerated, this afirmation and acknowledgment is first in point of order; but in him who is regenerated, it is last. This affirmation was represented by the tribe of Dan, whose inheritance was the extreme boundaries of Canaan, by which was signified the first entrance into the church. In enumerating the twelve tribes of Israel, or the twelve thousand sealed, Rev. vii. 5 to 8, Dan is omitted, in order to point out, that they who are only in the first affirmation or acknowledgment of truth and good, without proceeding any further towards regeneration, are not admitted into the kindgom of the Lord; for merely to know the things that are true and good, or even to affirm and acknowledge them, is of no avail; this may be done by the very worst of men: it is the life alone that determines the true nature and quality of the affirmation.

(To be continued.)

Charity is an internal affection of the soul, proceeding from the Lord Jesus Christ, as its proper fountain, and prompting a man to do good, and to act uprightly from a pure love of goodness and uprightness, without any regard to reward or recompense; for it bringeth its own reward along with it, and in its exercise is attended with the highest and purest satisfaction of life.

N. J. D. 104.

EXPLANATION OF REV. XIV. 14. &c:

Several of our Correspondents having expressed a desire to see an explanation of the following extract from the Apocalypse, according to its internal or spiritual signification, we take this op portunity to gratify them; hoping that it may be found at once satisfactory and edifying.

"And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat, like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And be that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God And the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine-press even unto the horse-bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."

This portion of prophetic scripture applies to the present day, and is therefore highly important to be known and understood. Being the WORD of Divine Truth itself, its end is the salvation of mankind, and its tenor the moral condition of the human race. Those who look into this inspired book for the temporal history of individuals, men or nations, will assuredly be disappointed, since "no prophecy is of any private interpretation," but embraces the moral state of Man, merely. And it is under this view, that nations, or individuals, representing in the ultimate or natural forms of creation, those principles of heavenly good. ness and truth, or the opposite evil and faise, from which all things are derived, are involved by spiritual causes in the events alluded to in this text; for, as it is by our connection with the spiritual world, that we live, move, and enjoy our being, it ne cessarily follows that every revolution and change of that world, must have its correspondent change and revolution in our natural world, by the various agencies therefor provided under the dis pensations of the Divine Providence.

Behold, a white cloud. The sun of our earth, the sensible image of Deity, would destroy the earth by the refulgence of his beams, was it not that his rays are tempered in our atmosphere VOL. I.

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