themselves, for they breathe nothing else than mutual destruction; and man can die, but not a spirit; and man is led otherwise than a spirit, because he is in a [material] body. (To be continued.) ON THE NATURE OF TEMPTATIONS, AND THEIR BLESSED EFFECTS. SIR, To the Editor of the Intellectual Repository. I send for insertion in your valuable journal, some thoughts and extracts, bearing upon that state of anxiety of mind which, from time to time, is attendant on true repentance and new birth. This state is so little known by the religious world, that its presence has been urged, to me, and no doubt to many others, as an argument that the members of the New Church do not possess the true faith; for it is asked, can individuals who are so frequently bewailing their offences, and even at times despairing of their salvation, hold the faith? And then, this state will be contrasted with that ease of mind, and that assurance of salvation, which is felt by those who fully embrace the common views of the atonement. It is surely a matter of great moment to ascertain which of these states is the one to be expected in our Christian pilgrimage. If our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our perfect pattern, was 66 a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," having been in all things tempted as we are;—if in his last combat, and direful agony on the cross, (although he had fulfilled all righteousness, and was without sin,) he felt so abandoned by the divine presence as to exclaim, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!"-if he became perfect through suffering;--is it to be expected that the sincere Christian servant is to be "greater than his Lord," and in perfecting himself to a finite degree, is to escape trials and anxieties? Can the man, who by the mercy of God has been made sensible of some of his numerous sins, fail to experience that godly sorrow that worketh repentance; and will he not, casting aside all boasting, try "to work out his salvation with fear and trembling?" He will feel that there are opposing spiritual influences within him; and he finds that he has to wrestle against "principalities and powers." As a soldier of Christ, he takes up his cross, and lowly in his own eyes seeks in the strength of his Lord to subdue his enemies, which, alas! he finds are of his own household; for he has to fight against self-love and cherished sins. How can he be at peace? for all his natural delights are taken from him; he appears to have lost his selfhood, and spiritual help and comfort appear to be far distant. Will he not feel feeble and sore smitten, and be apt to exclaim with the Psalmist, "How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord ? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thyself from me? how long shall mine enemies triumph over me?" Yet in this, his affliction, will it be a just judgment for his neighbours and friends to reckon him among those who hold not the true faith? Certainly not; for as well might the Jews have justified themselves in crucifying the Lord of Glory, and confirmed their minds in the feeling that he was a transgressor, from his last exclamation on the cross. Should the Christian come out of the fiery trial purer than before, he will for a season experience that peace and soberness of mind which will make him acknowledge, "that it has been good for him to have been afflicted," and that "the Lord chasteneth whom he loveth." We are assured that these states of combat and consolation will alternate with each other until the termination of this life; but if he continues stedfast in the Lord's strength to the end, he will pass to a heavenly world, where all is peace; for "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive a crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." I have thought that the last days of Swedenborg might bear upon the question, and will be interesting to your readers:-A short time before his death, Swedenborg had his spiritual or internal sight withdrawn, after having been favored with it during so long a course of years, and was for several days under the greatest tribulation of mind on that account, calling out, “O my God, hast thou then abandoned thy servant!" This seems to have been the last of his trials: he afterwards recovered his spiritual sight, and was then comforted and happy as before. "His death was most peaceful; having asked what time it was, and an answer being given that it was five o'clock, he said, 'Dat be good-me tank you-God bless you,' and about ten minutes afterwards expired in the most tranquil manner. This happened, Sunday, 29th March, 1772.”* I shall conclude by making a few extracts from Swedenborg, which clearly shew the nature and result of this combat in temptations : "Man is born into all kinds of evil, and unless he removes them, in part, by repentance, he remains in them, and cannot be saved."+"It is a thing most true, but altogether unknown, that man is governed by spirits and angels from the Lord; when evil spirits begin to have dominion, then the angels labour to avert evils and falses, and hence ariseth combat.”‡—“ In temptation man fights for truths against * New Magazine of Knowledge, Vol. 2. † Universal Theology, 520. ‡A.C. 227. falses ; and whereas at such times he is in interior pain and in torment, then is a cessation of the delights of the life of lusts and of the pleasures thence derived; in which case good things from the Lord flow in, and at the same time evil things are regarded as abominable."*" The external man is such, that of himself he lusteth after merely corporeal and worldly things alone, these things being the delights of his life; but the internal man, when he is open towards heaven, and desires the things of heaven, as is the case with those who are capable of being regenerated, finds his delight in heavenly things, and the combat is between these two opposite delights while man is in temptations." "Some undergo temptations who fall therein; neither is man saved by reason of temptations, if he places any merit therein, for this is a consequence of self-love, which boasteth itself of such things. Temptations in which a man conquers are attended with this effect: That he believes all others to be more worthy than himself, and that he himself is rather infernal than celestial, for such ideas of himself are presented in temptations. When, therefore, after temptations, he relapses into contrary ideas, it is a proof that he hath not conquered, for the thoughts which he hath in temptations are those to which the thoughts may be bended which he hath after temptations; and in case the latter thoughts cannot be bended to the former, he hath either fallen in the temptation, or comes afterwards to experience similar temptations, and sometimes more grievous, until he is brought to that soberness and soundness of mind as to believe that he hath merited nothing.”+ "In temptations man experiences anguish from the evils and falses rising up in thought, and in proportion as he then acknowledges his sins maketh himself guilty, and supplicates deliverance; in the same proportion temptations are made sensible to him."+ "But spiritual temptations are at this day little known, because man is not in the truth of faith, consequently he would fall under temptation. Instead of temptation there are other things, as misfortunes, sorrows, anxieties, which exist from natural and bodily causes, as also sickness of body, and distempers which serve to subdue and break, in some degree, the life of his pleasures and lusts, and determine and elevate his thoughts to interior and pious subjects: these, however, are not spiritual temptations, which are experienced only by those who have received a conscience of truth, and goodness from the Lord; real conscience is the plane on which temp. tations operate."§ man in his corporeal and worldly until it be no longer regarded as an When this is the case, angels can "The celestial angels can in no wise be with delight until it is reduced to compliance, that is, end, but as a means subservient to heavenly delight. be with man in each delight; but in this case, delight becomes blessedness, and at length happiness in the other life."|| These extracts will fully explain to the true Christian, and prepare him for the deadly conflict he must engage in, and shew him how great and continued must be the warfare with the flesh and its deceitful lusts; but at the same time will console him, under his spiritual trials, with the assurance, that in this way alone, the denying of himself, can he become regenerate, a fitting habitation for celestial spirits, or capable of ex * A.C. 2272. + A.C. 2273. ‡ H.H. 395. § 4.C. 672. || 4.C. 3928. periencing heavenly joy. They will be far from confirming any one in that confidence of election which has been alluded to at the commencement of this paper, and which in many cases, it is to be feared, will prove a hollow peace. The difference in men's reception of religious truth may thus be described :—One class thankfully and humbly receives it, as the medium whereby the Lord is to rule, and by ruling, bless them: the other class seizes upon it with proud exultation, as a means of increasing their own self-complacent satisfaction. How immense is this difference! and how awfully contrasted are the respective results! LXXVII. Precepts of charity cannot be uttered with full sincerity and entire conviction of their excellence, until the feelings opposed to them have been conquered in temptation. LXXVIII. Although protection from painful states can only be afforded by the Lord by means of truths, truths do not afford protection of themselves, or by reason of any necessity inherent in them: the protection to which they conduce, is regulated entirely by the Lord. If truths inherently, and necessarily, afforded protection, self-confidence and self-esteem, on account of possessing them, would adjoin themselves to, and profane them, and thus render salvation impossible. LXXIX. The worshiping principle is deeply seated in our nature. Man must have a God, even although that God be himself! Hence obedience to the first commandment may justly be regarded as the Alpha and the Omega of all the rest. LXXX. Self-satisfied people can never discern in others, however eminent their character, any superiority of wisdom or virtue to their own; for even when they bend to the general voice, and acknowledge another's superiority in the gross, they will deny it in detail. Hence the force of example is lost upon such persons, and is, indeed, confined only to the meek and lowly in heart, who are willing, and therefore able, to profit by it. LXXXI. While the varieties in the cultivation of the intellect are endless, there are only two varieties in the cultivation of the will, namely, the arrangement of charity above self-love, on the one hand, and the arrangement of self-love above charity, on the other. LXXXII. A Christian, properly speaking, is a cöoperator with Jesus Christ; but a believer is merely one who has learned how he ought to cöoperate. LXXXIII. Strong wishes generate strange fancies. LXXXIV. Personal collisions arise either from defective feelings, or defective views: hence the true peace-maker is he who most earnestly strives habitually to regulate his feelings wisely, and to improve and elevate his moral judgment. LXXXV. The later period of life is the season appropriated by the Creator, for the confirmation and inrooting of former states of mind. In order to prevent this season from being occupied with the confirmation of defects, much zeal and faithfulness is required in the former periods. LXXXVI. To prepare philosophically for the worst, is a stern exercise of natural pride; but to prepare religiously for it, is a cheerful exercise of humility. Thus prepared to meet the worst, the Christian is best prepared to do his best under all circumstances. He will thankfully meet unexpected blessings with double pleasure; and being prepared to meet afflictions with patient resignation, all the sustaining and healing sources of divine consolation will be open to him. On the contrary, prosperity expected is soon turned by human selfishness into prosperity demanded, so that when it arrives, it is met with small pleasure, and less gratitude; while the unlooked for sorrows are met with excessive depression, and impatient murmuring, and the consequent rejection of |