The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-12-28
THE NEW OlspsNsAIlun.

THE NEW DSpEksA1loA
Swedenborgian Lecture by Rev. Albert
Smith.
About twenty persons, among whom were two
ladies' assembled last evening at Harvard Hail. cor
Forty second street and Sixth avenue, TO listen
to a lecture by Rev. Albert Smith on THE Word"
from the Swedenborgan standpoint. The services
Of the evening began with the singing Of the ninety
first selection OF chants:-"I will what Jehovah God
VIII speak, for He win speak peace to His people ana
to His saints; but let them not turn again to foy"-
ts5th Psalm, verse eight. The chanting Of the
Psalm was accompanied by one OF the ladies
present on the piano, after which followed the
Lords Prayer, then the Rev. Albert Smith read
the whole first chapter OF the Gospe! according to
st. John, when the 22sth selection was SUNG
"The spirit OF the Lord Jehovah Is upon me
because Jehovah hath Amounted me to preach glad
lecture by declaring 1t to be his purpose 10 explain
what was taught by the memorials OF Swedenborg
in regard to the Bible. as the doctrines OF the New
Dlspensatl0n, known as the New Jerusalem were
not only consistent with the Bible but furnished the
best possible Illustrations OF the divine character of
the book. He approached the subject with didence,
for II included the CIVIL moral and religious state OF
mankind from the earliest historic ages. II is well
established that all nations had some form Of
religious belief, the underlying main features OF
which were more or less in analogy with the Bible.
As the phologlst in the study OF the science OF Ian
EuaTe rcvertS Dack through the MANY VARIATIONS
to the original source OF language thus Swedenborgs
inquiries traced back to the source OF the word
OF God, to the Divinity ITSELF apd were, therefore
far more comprehensive than tie Investigations OF
other the0logians. And Swedenb0rg alone explains
nationally these religious tendencies Of mankind and
the lecturer regretted that within the limit OF time
allotted him 1t was impossible to give full review
OF these doctrines. IL was indispensable for O cor
rect understanding OF the subject to know the
not attribute the same degree OF holiness to all
the books In the Bible. AS produced by the imme-
counted the law, the Prophets and the Psams-vz.,
the five books OF Moses, Joshua, Judges, Samuel
and Kings las the law and the Prophets), the Psalms
and also in the New Testament the four Gospels and
the Revelations The Swedenborgan iterpreta-
ton, therefore, excludes from holiness all other
m ne as teacnr to h
true doctrine and serve the purpose OF instruction
and did serve this purpose highest and best at the
adapted to the then condition OF the human mind
Dgent and careful study has disclosed the fact that
some parts OF the Bible differ radically rom Others,
position and the lecturer referred especially to the orr
gina Hebrew OF the first eleven chapters OF the Book
OF Genesis, the radical difference IN the style aud
composition OF which being also noticeable In the
English translation. Literally these eleven chap
tiers appear to be history Of the creation Of the
must be sought In the Interior the spiritual sense OF
the words With the twelfth chapter begins the his
tory OF Abraham and Of his descendants for twenty
eight generations to the Babyl0nian captivity. The
Psalms are devotional songs expressive OF personal
feelings inspired BY Cod, and the Prophets
are q series OF prophetic books, commencing with
JONAH s62 years before Christ, and ending with
Malachi 400 years before Christ and 200 years after
the Babylonan captivity. The first eleven chapters
OF Genesis the lecturer claimed to be merely repro
duction Of an ancient work then existing and he
cited from the first book Of Joshua to support the
claim The meaning OF Its words was wholly spirit
ual VIII Oh but lately shown by the sceptical criti
Of Bishop Coienso; but especially proven to the
Se Of st its Holiness Is
nal and spiritual, and In this supreme sense the
Bible is the expression Of God, Of Divine affection,
hensble to the human understanding, for the finite
has no concept0ns0f the infinite. The angels are
the highest state OF nitism; there are also angels
OK spirits with o lower degree Of capacity and
then comes man. In the spiritual words OF the
Bible the Lord has worked the descent OF divine
truth and Of the kingdom OF heaven, and the
natural mind OF man may comprehend It when
raised ~ the heat and light Of heaven to the cogn
past history OF the world, Of the allegorical aiu-
sions Of the Prophets, OF their pointed symbolica
references, as so cumbrously explained bv the old
dspensation that the march OF Alexander the Great
brought new influences and the Greek language
the language OF the New Testanent-into the Holy
Land. The New Testament the lecturer declared TO
order Of the salvation OF man; not new truth, but
only new dispensation OF the same old, eternal
interior, spiritual sense than ever before; yet 1t
contains q promise OF q stu higher dispense
@ @ rSas The YeT is hs 10
again In full glory and his coming predicted In the
Apocalypse and this descent oil the light OF the word
of God was through SwedenbOrg In the doctrines
known as the New Jerusalem. This was meant by
the coming Of the Lord IN all His power and glory,
the descent Of the light OF the spirit world from God
out Of heaven TO open the mind OF man to see and
comprehend and to work mans redemption BY
means OF the divine truth. After further Calculating
searching for TRUTH to follow the philosophical de-
auctions OF the mind And so did Swedenborg, and
succeeded IN disclosing the scientific elements OF the
study OF the Bible through higher state OF spiritual
Illumination, and thus obtaining the key to the spt
ritual Of the word Of God, clearing up and Get
Ting the old problem OF the distinction between mind
and matter. The two schools-that mindJonly exists
as asserted by the one; that matter only has being
as claimed by the other-were referred TO, and that
the subtle deductions OF Plato and Arstoteles par
ticuarly OF the latter, had given bias to ecclesiast
Gal Thought through all ages down TO Swedenborg.
sastical materalism OF John Locke and his follow.
ers by the narrow empricism OF the French and the
ideallstlc supersensuousness OF Leibnitz Wolf and
Kant, In GerDany. Swedenborg admitted the ex-
istence OF the unknown, and gave his experiences
in the spirit world to which his spirit admitted
by the Lord while his body yet among the living.
In speaking OF the relations between the spiritual
and the natural Swedenborg's experience teaches
that the Intercourse between the two spheres Ii
limited the present corrupted state or the world not
allowing its disorganizing and dangerous elements
to enter tire spiritual circles. That the angels
anu spr,,s IRE men, sups n ,h aenuing 20
think and speak as we OF this earth yet they know
OF the existence Of this natural world as we do Of
the spiritual Still they cannot teach. for only the
0mnipresent Omniscient power, God, can teach.
Reading the Bible properly are illuminated by
the light from the spirit world ana are made to I'M
derstand Its spiritual sense, on which depends the
salvation Of man. After death there would be no
change and man would not know OF his transfer TO
the spiritual sphere unless instructed. Man, there
FORE Is q microcosn, the representative form OF
heaven. The spiritual principle IL present every
wherein the animal, the vegetable, the mineral
kingdom. Evil animals and poison Gus plants derive
their destructive qualities from the corrupted state
Of man. ON this point the lecturer spoke at length,
coming to the conclusion that the good In man Is
representative OF heaven the bad and hell.
and that the loss OF the conception OF the divine
trt n rs the loss OF the soul.