ing Himself." And when He had "vanished out of their sight," "they said one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?" (v. 32.) And when He appeared to them again, "He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me." And it is added, "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.” (v. 44. 45.)

Now what can be more demonstrative than this, in proof of the existence of an internal sense? For it is clearly implied by these words of our Lord, that the Scriptures contain a meaning which cannot be discerned unless the understanding be opened to perceive it. And if there be but one meaning to Scripture, and this its obvious and literal meaning, what idea can possibly be attached to these passages, which speak of the Lord's opening the Scriptures to His disciples, and of His opening their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures? If there were no interior sense to the Sacred Oracles—no meaning but what is manifest on the surface, would the Lord speak, as He has here spoken, of opening them?

Let one other text be cited in confirmation of our position, that the existence of an internal sense is actually taught in the Scripture itself; and then I will leave the subject for the reflection and further examination of all unfettered minds, who, in humility and sincerity, are earnestly seeking the truth.

It is recorded of our Lord, that He declared to the Jews on one occasion, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John vi. 51.) And when the Jews "strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." (v. 52, 53, 54.) And we are told that "many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" Then the Lord adds, by way of explanation, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life." (v. 63.)

Now, can it be by virtue of their literal sense alone, that the Lord here declares his words to be spirit and life? Does He not say "It is the spirit that quickeneth?" And this agrees with what the Apostle saith, "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." And are we not plainly taught in the passage just cited, that it is the literal sense - the outward, corporeal part—the mere flesh of the Divine Word, at which men stumble and take offense? And that, if we desire to know what that living bread is, which cometh down from heaven, and of which, whoso eateth shall live forever, we must look within the outward covering or "flesh" of the Word, (which alone doth not profit) to those pure and heavenly principles which are "spirit and life;" and with which, by the light of the New Jerusalem, the Sacred Scripture is seen to be everywhere filled.

Thus far, then, we have arrived in our argument. — In the last lecture it was my aim to show, from the character of many parts of the Sacred Scripture, the necessity of either admitting a spiritual sense, or of rejecting the Bible as the Word of God -a dread alternative indeed! yet one on whose fearful brink multitudes are even now standing. And in this lecture I have endeavored to prove from the united testimony of the Apostles, of Moses, of the Psalms and the Prophets, and of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, that there actually is a spiritual sense in the written Word.

As a piece of corroborative evidence it has also been shown, that, here and there along the horizon of the first Christian Church, the light of the spiritual sense has streamed through the clouds, and bathed the lofty mountain-tops with its resplendent brightness. It has been shown that some of the most distinguished luminaries in that Church have believed and taught, that the chief wisdom of God's Word lies within and above the sense of the letter.

It remains to exhibit, as I shall endeavor to do in succeeding lectures, something of the nature of the spiritual sense, and the principle according to which this sense is to be unfolded. And let it here be remarked, that the method by which we arrive at the spiritual sense, is not the cunning device of a man; neither is it fanciful, conjectural, or ingenious, as many suppose; but it is a matter of special divine revelation, and is of a nature so rational, orderly, and beautiful, that enlightened reason acknowledges it to be consistent with itself, with true science, and with all that is known of the beauty, economy, wisdom, and perfection of God.

Human ingenuity has spent all its force in vain attempts to invent a key by which to unlock the Divine Oracles. The Church has struggled long and hard to find her way back to the garden of Eden, by the dim light of her own intelligence. But this has not been permitted. Evermore at the entrance of the garden, are seated cherubim with a flaming sword, turning every way to keep the way of the Tree of Life. And in these latter times the Church has fallen into such an external and sensual state has become so lost to genuine love and charity has wandered so far away from her Father's house, that she would fain fill herself with the husks which the swine do eat. Nay, more: with her various, conflicting, and blind conjectures concerning the meaning of the Sacred Volume, multiplying her commentaries and swelling her libraries with confirmations of the mere appearances of truth, she has torn the letter of the Word all to shreds, and has come to regard its spiritual sense as of no account, and even as having no existence; thus, spiritually, fulfilling these words of the Lord, "They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots." Yes human ingenuity has gone as far as it can go, in its endeavors to interpret aright the Word of God. It has done all that it can do, to give us a consistent and rational theory concerning the inspired Volume. But this Book, "written within and on the back side, and sealed with seven seals," this Book, which "no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, has been able to open," this Book, "the Lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed to open, and to loose the seven seals thereof." Let, therefore, the power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing, be ascribed "to the Lamb that was slain," who alone is worthy of such homage.

Those who have any perception of the darkness and gloom that now overshadow the Church, and who are anxiously inquiring the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, let them come to the revelations that have been made for the New Jerusalem. Let them come to the light, the glad and glorious light-of the spiritual sense of the Word as unfolded in the writings of Swedenborg, and "they shall walk and not stumble." Then, if they really desire. to know the truth that the truth may make them free-free from evil loves and false persuasions -if they desire to know and to live the life of heaven, they shall understand the heavenly meaning of these words of the Lord, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the

shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." (Is. ix. 2. And then shall they also, in some degree, experience within themselves in the clearer illustration of their minds, and the easier control of their turbulent passions—the fulfillment of these other words in the prophecy of Isaiah, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people : but Jehovah shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but Jehovah shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy Glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for Jehovah shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended." (Is. lx. 1, 2, 19, 20.)

LECTURE VI.

THE SACRED SCRIPTURE

SCIENCE OF CORRESPONDENCES, THE TRUE KEY TO THE SPIRITUAL SENSE.

Woe unto you, Lawyers! For ye have taken away the key of knowledge.- Luke xi. 52.

Is it not singularly strange, while every body is willing to admit that the volume of nature has just begun to be unfolded to human vision, and that, in the great globe of science, there yet lie innumerable strata unexplored and untouched, that people should be so unwilling to admit that any higher and purer truth is ever to be unfolded from the volume of Revelation? Is it not strange that Christians should so generally and pertinaciously insist, that all which ever will, or ever can, be known of the Word of God, has already been discovered by the learned men of former times? Is not this virtually to deny that there exists any analogy between the Word and the works of God? and to maintain that the former is a very superficial production, while at the same time it is admitted that there are infinite stores of wisdom in the latter, which yet lie concealed beneath the surface?

It was a pointed question once asked by Swedenborg, "Will it take ages to discover the truth, or ages to acknowledge it when discovered?" Does not the history of human progress show, that in proportion as a truth is great, and transcending the capacity of the age, it is either overlooked, forgotten, or rejected? Long and hard has truth ever had to struggle to penetrate the mists of human ignorance, prejudice, and error. Although it never comes to condemn, but always to save the world, yet at its advent has the world always pronounced its own sentence of condemnation. The disposition which men have shown ever since the Fall, to shut their eyes against the light, affords a striking commentary upon the words of our Lord, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." And even now, as ever, "the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not."

It was intimated in a preceding lecture, that there is not to be