is the influx of life from the spiritual world into the germ, and the influx of the sun and earth into that material form which the life assumes in the natural world. The former is called immediate influx, not because it is life from the Divine Being flowing in without any media, but because it flows through spiritual agents, and thus is more direct than the latter, which comes from the same source by the round about way of material agents.

Take the case of man. His spirit or active principle flows in from the spiritual world, and his body or reactive principle flows in from the natural world. So his love, affection, or virtue, as an active principle, flows in immediately, or from within, into instruction, knowledge, or wisdom, which, as a reactive principle, flows into him mediately, that is by instructors and teachers, thus from without.

So in the various parts of his body, as the hand, for instance, or the arm. There is the immediate influx of the soul into the arm, by which it acts and performs its wonted operations for the body; and the mediate influx of the heart and lungs, by which it exists as a material reactive plane for the soul's activity. The immediate influx in this case is by the nervesthe mediate by the arteries and veins: and the immediate is so called, because its medium, the nerves, is also the medium of the active principle to the heart, the source of the arteries, as well as to the arm, which those arteries support. That there is this twofold influx in the case of the arm, is proved by the fact, that, if you destroy the nerves, or interrupt the communication by them, as in a paralysis, the arm loses its power action, while it still exists by nourishment from the heart: and if the communication from the heart is cut off, or the requisite supply of nourishment is lessened, as is the case in some diseases, the arm withers, while it is still capable of acting until it ceases to furnish an adequate reactive plane for the active principle.

of

So, universally, there must be into every thing that exists a twofold influx. Of course, this influx must have a twofold source. For how can that which is twofold proceed from that which is absolutely simple? Manifestly, that which is absolutely simple cannot both act and react in itself. How then can it produce action and reaction in that which is out of itself? Clearly mere, abstract, simple oneness can produce nothing at all. It is just as impossible as it is for an apothecary to make a compound medicine out of one drug; or for an arithmetician to compute with nothing but units; or for a conspiracy to be

formed by one man. Thus nothing can exist without action and reaction. And action and reaction cannot exist without a twofold influx. And a twofold influx cannot proceed from a simple oneness of being. Therefore, from a simple oneness of being nothing can exist.

But things do exist. And their existence is the result of action and reaction: which are owing to a twofold influx; that is, both an immediate and a mediate influx of life from the Divine Being. Since, then, action and reaction, and their twofold influx, cannot exist from a simple oneness of being, and they do exist from the Deity, therefore, the Deity is not a simple oneness of being.

And further, as it is legitimate to reason from the essential principles of natural existence to the constituent principles of divine existence, and as a threefold principle is essential to every thing which exists in nature, hence we conclude that there is a threefold principle in the Deity. Thus there must be in the Deity, a divine active, a divine reactive, and a divine influential principle. And as we are not to suppose that things can exist in any other order than that in which they do exist, consequently are bound to suppose, that, as there is a trinity in every unity, there must be a trinity in every unity; hence we conclude that in the nature of things, there must be a trinity in the one God.

And this trinity does not consist in three persons or individualities. For every individual thing must be constituted by an inmost, a middle and an outermost. And hence, if there were three persons or individualities in the one God, there would be in the one God three inmosts, three middles, and three outermosts-or three divine actives, three divine reactives, and three divine influences; which is absurd.

But the trinity in the one God consists in three essential and indispensable principles, which are his inmost, his middle, and his outermost—that is, it consists in a divine active, a divine reactive, and a divine spherical principle; which, on another occasion, we shall prove to be divine love, divine wisdom, and divine use; and which, in the divine language of the Sacred Scriptures, are called,—that is, are personified to the thought of man as, the father, the son, and the holy ghost. Thus, then, "there are three that bear record in heaven-the father, the word, and the holy ghost; and these three are one."

We have now, as we proposed, proved from the Holy Word that there is and have shown by rational deduction from the nature of things that there must be-a trinity in the one God.

And we have pointed out the true nature of this trinity as consisting, not in three divine persons, but in three indispensable divine principles.

To those persons, then, whose minds are not made up on this subject, we will, in concluding this paper, hold up to them a miniature portrait of the faith of the old church, and one of the faith of the new, in respect to the trinity.

The old church believes" There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this godhead, there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternitythe father, the son, and the holy ghost."- "There is one person of the father, another of the son, and another of the holy ghost the father is God and Lord, the son is God and Lord, and the holy ghost is God and Lord; nevertheless there are not three gods and three lords, but one God and one Lord. For as we are compelled by the christian verity to acknowledge every person by himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say there be three gods or three lords."

The faith of the new-jerusalem church is-That there is one infinite and eternal God in one divine person-that this one person is necessarily constituted by an active, a reactive, and an influential principle-which are a divine essence, a divine form, and a divine sphere: and that these three principles, which in the Scriptures are called father, son, and holy ghost, are distinctly one God, just as soul, body, and conduct, are distinctly one man.

There are the two portraits before you. Judge ye for yourselves which is the best likeness of the truth. Look at them and compare them with the portraiture of the Divine Being, as seen in his Word and in his works; and, in the free and responsible exercise of your own reason and volition, take that which is conscientiously deemed best.

4

SERMON I.

66

JOHN, XIV. 8-11.

Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the father, and how sayest thou, Show us the father? Believest thou not that I am in the father, and the father in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but the father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me, that I am in the father, and the father in me."

ALL religion is founded on the knowledge of God; and the nature of a religion is determined by the quality of this knowledge. Hence its idea of the Divine Being wholly characterises a church. Consequently the difference between churches may be known by knowing the difference between their ideas of the Deity.

The new-jerusalem church, which is now making its appearance in the world, differs essentially from the old christian church. It is a new church, not because it advances entirely different doctrines, but because it understands the same doctrines in a new way. The old church is divided chiefly into Unitarians and Trinitarians. We have already stated our doctrine of the unity and trinity of God, and contrasted it with those of these two grand divisions of the old christian church.

But that doctrine which most peculiarly distinguishes the new christian church from the old, is her doctrine of the Lord, and especially of the divinity of his humanity. This doctrine we shall now proceed to unfold. However, before we go on to the specific consideration of this doctrine, it may be well to give