National Republican., 1873-10-06

and lovely affection planted by the Lord, and
they will pcrcrt the flower garden Of Tic
soul Into q barren desert aud make II the
abode Of wild and dangerous animals;
Let us now acc WHAT'S meant by tile lamb
which shall dwell with the wolf, tue Kid
which shall lie down with the leopard, the
calf and the failing which go together with
the lion, and tho little child which shall lead
them.
slOns arc unrcsstcd by spiritual motives aud
have free play. Man permits his desires
freely TO ascend from bis heart into his pu-
derstandng, his imagination works undis-
turbcd. Evil lusts and evil thoughts lurk
about, and In many instances II is but fear Of
| punishment, loss of honor and other external
restraints, which keep them back In the minor
enclosures of the naturalmind, orthoy would
burst forth, and show Themselves In the most
hldcous crimes. The Influences of the Lords
Invisible providence prevents these oubursts
In general, but II permits them to appear for
| wise purposes In some individuals In every
| community. When we hear OF terrible
crimes, and our better nature Is shocked, we
should always remember that these very
| evils sleep In every human bosom, and II
Is altogether owing to the mercy of
an all-wise God that we are prevented from
| being also examples Of the same deplorablc
character. When man receives spiritual light
from above and seeth his depravity, and when
the heat Of divine love warns the tender
germs or remains which arc laid up In the
inner parts Of every mans spirit In Infancy
and childhood, the soul becomes melted to
live a new life. The lamb, the kid, the calf
and the failing are those innocent aud pure
affections which are born In heaven, and In
their youthful state are called remains. They
arc germs Of innocence, love and wisdom
Before repentance and the beginning OF re-
generation these tender affections are only
seen In the distance. They are, rs Il were,
afraid OF the wolf, the leopard and the lion
The evil passions Of the heart, the falsities Of
the head, and the sensual life Of the body
keeps them at bay; and in order that these
ferocious animals or passions may not tear
them to pieces and devour them they are pre-
served aud protected in the inner parts Of the
| soul. But rs soon as regeneration begins,
| and the evil passions arc brought under the
| tanning rules of life and they begin to be
made obedicnt to the commandments, these
| innocent and gentle affections appear. limo
cent, kind and thoughtful states are then ex-
pericnced, and the heart In general feels more
gently inclined. Then the lambs of inno-
cencc come forth, and with them charitable
feelings and pure thoughts, Tho little child
| that child born whose name Ia Prince of
Peace and upon whose shoulder rests the
government Of the heart. He Is the leader be-
cause he Is the true shepherd. The influence
Of his divine humanity takes hold OF the soul,
subordinatcs the fierce passions, and makes
them subscrvicnt to tho performance Of uses.
When that Is accomplished the wolf, leopard
and young lion lie down-that 10, they are,
by the influence OF higher spiritual life, made
powerlcss In the application Of their strength
| to do harm, whilst their strength itself Is ad-
Joined to and consolidated with the innocent
and pure affections designated by the lamb,
the Kid, the calf and the failing. Zeal. ardor,
strength aud executive power are adjolned to
/ ha nd aHarttnna nf antuna l.
from persons designated by the wolf, the
leopard and the young lion. Whilst the evils
designated by them can never be totally an.
initiated, but only subdued, their power oI
strength Is absorbed and transferred to the
lamb the kid, the calf and the fatling-thai
is, to the innocent and pure affections Of the
regenerating soul. After this Is done the
lamb, the kid, the calf and the failing dwell
and lie down together with the wolf, the
leopard and the young lion. The fierce ami
NAL passions have been tanned. They are
now gentle and friendly associates OF the
spiritual mind, where the Lord, as their shep.
herd, provides them with pasture, and lead,
them to the still waters.
We come now to another interesting part
Of the texts "The COW and tho bear shall feed
their young ones shall lie down together, and
the lion shall eat straw like the OK
The bear Is powerful animal aud noted
for his strength. He is clumsy, awkward
heavy and not very swift. His greatest
strength lies In his legs aud paws. By him
Is signifed power from the literal sense ol
the word. In q good sense, II means the
powerful corroborations Of truths by the let
ter In an evil sense, the bear signifies pow
erful corroborations Of false dogmas from
the appearances OF the Holy Scriptures. Truth
and error.alikc appeal 20 the power from the
signify natural goodness or good affec-
tions Of the natural mind. The
bear Is naturally an enemy TO tho COW;
he signifies, therefore, affections contrary ia
natural goodness, which Is that kind OF sell
hshness which Is called faith alone. Faith l:
powerful, like the bear. and 1t derives its
strength from the letter OF the word, but II Is,
when alone, without morality. 1t despiscs
natural goodness as superfuous and unneces
sary to salvation. IL relies on a yicarious
atonemcnt, and appropriatcs to itself what Ii
not his. Thus II becomes robber.
Feeding Is an emblem Of instruction, and
the good, natural affections as well as faith
alone feed upon the letter Of the word. But
the bear is dangerous to the cow, like Us faith
alone Is dangerous to natural goodness. In
this relation we always find the Solondian
principle. 1t Is opposed to natural goodness.
The Solofdans say: 'All natural goodness is
worth nothing-faith alone saves" But the
Lord requires of us to be good, and though a
mau may have but little truth or faith II he
is naturally good, he can be taught at any
time hereafter higher faith and be saved,
whilst faith alone, powerful as 1t seems, Ii
doomed to perish under the edlct OF Heaven
~ know We notl" When the mind become.
truly regencratcd, 1t unltcs natural goodness
to faith, and both goodness and faith feed to
gether upon Gods word. When this Is don,
| natural goodness and faith, or the cow ant
. the bear, feed together, and their young ones
| which arc kind affections and faithful or tru,
, thoughts, derived from natural goodness ant
I literal truths Of the word, lie together or as
} socate together In every good act. They fee'
together, or derive Instruction from the sam
= word, and they produce an offspring whicl
; eau peacefully rest together In the good work
| or uses performed.
= The lion and the OK, which partake Of tn
same food, or eat straw, mean that tn
) scientific truths nourish both the power o
.. affections Of willing goodness. Sciences ar
meant by straw. They are dry and contain
: little spiritual food, but by them higher spirit
7 ual truths are confirmed. Both tho lion, or tn,
, power to act good, and the OK, or the affection
q and desire 10 will goodness, are by them fec
and strengthened. In this sense the lion cat
c straw like the OK. The last part Of our tex
r is this; "And the sucking child shall play oil
, the hole Of the asp, and the weaned chill,
4 shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den."
( The asp Is poisonous serpent Of Egypt
4 and Is mentioned by ancient authors, VIII,
: describe Its bite rs icing inevitably mortal
: and say that The bitten arc thrown into
: deep sleep and die without pain within thre
Q days.
! The cockatricc is another species OF q yer.
!. deadly serpent or viper, and the ancients de
G scribe It as the most yenomous OF all poison
$ Gus serpcnts.
: The asp signifies the sensual principle
which IL the lowest Of the natural man, ful
i of abominable evils and their confirming
: faults. The cockatrice signifies nearly tn,
same, viz! evil originating In the false, whicl
is derived from the sensual scientific prin
J ciple.
II a child should be found playing at tn,
hole OF an asp, or should put Its hand int
, the nest Of cockatrice, the Inevitable conse
quence would be that 1t would be bitten by
these serpcnts, and that 1t would have TO die
In the regenerated state of mind the asp ant
cockatrice become inoffensive to the child
, that Is, to the principle of innocence. Tho
7 same truth Is referred TO by the Lord wher
: he left his disciples, after he had commits
stoned them to go into all the world and pro
claim the gospel. He said that, ''The,
! tdrink any deadly thing 1t shall no
: hurt them,"-Msrk xvi:lS. By serpents ar,
! signiffed the affections of the five senses, o
y the sensual principles, which are the ultimate
!, of life. Noxlous serpents, as those In ou
D text, sighnify sensual things that are de
I pendent on evil affections. All unclean, sen
sual lusts and their corresponding thought
ara pnignnaus serDants Rppa riding tho de