Telegram-herald., 1889-10-08
THE NEW JERUSALEM
Sermon by the Rev. Mr.. Mercer
OF Chicago.
The BIBLE; WHATITIS, HOW IOtSEIT
The Bible from the New Church S1~Ha
pOint--The Spiritual Meaning OF the
Hcrd-The Bible synlDolteSi-
How 10 Interpret the W ord.

The y ew Church was well filled last
night TO listen 10 Rev. L. +. Mer-
Ger, OF Chicago. The subject OF MS ser
mon Was: The Bible; What Il Is, and
How TO Use IL" and the text was taken
from a verse IN the nineteenth chapter
of Revelations.
In beginning, the preacher answered
the questions IN two short sentences
1T is the word of God. Ii Is 10 be used
as a book OF Divine parallels" The
spiritual, or symbolical meaning Of his
text was then explained 10 the audience
before he enlarged upon the answers TO
his two questions.
tie explained the difference IN
the structure OF the works OF
man and the works of God. The
works of God are made from within
from a seed. They have the principle
of life within them. All tnat God
makes lives aud moves; even the stone
and rocks have a kind OF life III the
cohesive force which binds their par
tcles together. Man can but make
pictures of Gods works. He can
clothe himself with stuff which he Is
able TO bring together. But notice how
God can clOthe the lily Of the held.
He can lift 1t from the tiny seed in the
soft, warm SOIL 10 a beautiful Hover. Ii
has IN ii an element of growth"
Man can make a picture OF lily
but he can not give 1t scent. He can
make picture of an apple but he can
. a - Ta~ff-
have Il force that mans do not possess.
AS the little leaf and then the stalk,
and then ears of grain comes from the
kernel, 50 the divine word OF God Is q
seed thought which raises men to
higher understanding OF His divine
ways"
Continuing he reasoned from what
he termed first principles down TO facts.
He said that If man is to know ANY
thing of God he cannot learn it from
his fine senses. He must be taught by
something outside of himself. The
beginning of everything is seed. Man
first got ideas from earthly forms,
these seed thoughts begOt others and
these IN turn others, always higher
until he got some idea of God. Man
needs revelation even of himself and
OF ms own nature.
The only way that man can know
anything of God is through symbols,
because God is infinite and mans mind
is finite. All through the Bible God
teaches man by symbols. When He
wishes to teach man something OF lis
power he uses a symbol OF power
which man can understand. His
protection is symbolized as an
eagle lowering over its young
This will be borne in the minds OF
man, holy thoughts.
The whole Bible is composed of sym
bols. The whole history of Israel is a
parable. 1t was written to give man
higher sense of spirituality. Luther
saw the abuses IN the church and at
tributed it to the difference in meaning,
which different men got out of the
Bible. SO he said there is no spiritual
meaning to the Bible. 1t Is to be taken
literally. 1t has a spiritual sense and
the truth and proof of this was first
made known through SwedcnbOrg.
He discovered the science of CORES.
pOndence on which the New Church Is
Founded. The preacher explained the
meaning of the science Of correspond
ence. Everything natural has Il cor
responding thing N the spiritual econ
Omy. within our material there Is a
corresponding spiritual body. There
are spiritual hands, spiritual feet,
spiritual eyes, and each part of the
material body has its corresponding
spiritual part. So the material or lit
/ eral words of God have a corresponding
spiritual meaning.
THIS science of correspondence is the
key which opens the divine truth of
/ God and makes IL cl, arcr To the Sur
! denbOrgians. Viewed in this way
to them the Bible IS to be
interpreted according to its spiritual
meaning. The story of the creation is
Il parable. The flood was not a flood
OF waters but flood of truth perverted
/ las water Is the material correspondent
/ of TRUTH. Noah was new church
( which restored to the world some knOWl-
/ edge of tne truth. The miracle OF
Christ IN changing water to VINE is a
/ symbol OF something else; the real
changing of water to wine never tOOk
4 place. 1t means that men are the
water jars - be filed with the water o!
/ truth. 1t is changed to vine with a
! lte-uviug principle when we make
known that truth 70 Othcrs.
As WINE is but the water OF the earth
/ lifted up % the higher place as the
/ juice of vegetation, 50 this parable o.
1 the changing o. water To- WINE IS tho
spiritual correspondent of the process.
/ by which water really changed TO wine
In the process o. nature.
The sermon closed with an eXplana
ton of tie good which comes from the
T belief. It shuts out cfoctually the At
tacks of ihe skcpt.c, who attacks tine
literal meaning Of the Bible, and settlc'
/ forever tuc mind OF tlc believer thC
divine inspiration OF thc scriptures.