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of the greatest and most venerated thinkers of the present age, is evident from the following extracts from the Life and Correspondence of the late Dr. Arnold, whose memory is so widely esteemed and respected. To the Rev. F. C. Blackstone, Dr. Arnold thus writes on the state of the times:

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"I believe that the day of the Lord is coming,' that is, the termination of one of the great alwves of the human race-whether the final one of all or not, that I believe no created being knows or can know. Society in Europe seems going on fast for a revolution, out of which Christ's Church will emerge in a new position, purified, I trust, and strengthened by the destruction of various earthly and evil mixtures that have corrupted it."

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To the Rev. J. Tucker he thus writes, in allusion to the same subject: "February, 1833.

[Speaking of his departure from England, as a missionary, he says:] 'Meantime, in a temporal point of view, you are going from what bids fair, I fear, to deserve the name of a city of destruction.' The state of Europe is indeed fearful, and that of England I verily think worst of all. What is coming none can foresee, but every symptom is alarming; above all, the extraordinary dearth of men PROFESSING to act in the fear of God, and not being fanatics: as parties, the high churchmen, the evangelicals, and the dissenters, seem to me almost equally bad, and how many good men can be found who do not belong to one of them!"

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"Above all, be afraid of teaching NOTHING; it is vain now to say that questions of religion and politics are above the understanding of the poorer classes; so they may be, but they are not above their misunderstanding, and they will think and talk about them, so that they had best be taught to think and talk rightly. Phrases which did well enough formerly, now only excite a sneer. It does not do to talk to the operatives about our pure and apostolical church,' and 'our glorious constitution.' They have no respect for either; but we must take higher ground, and show that our object is not so much to preserve particular institutions, as to uphold eternal principles, which are in great danger of falling into disrepute, because of the vices of the institutions which profess to exemplify them. The church, as it now stands, no human power

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The celebrated Dr. Arnold was right in his perceptions as to the state of the church and the coming of the day of the Lord. He had (probably without having read any of Swedenborg's works) a surprising intuition as to the state of things in relation to Christianity, not only in England, but throughout Europe. He saw that every thing was wrong, that the church was in a fallen and perverted state, and that Christianity existed scarcely in any thing but in name.

It is a doctrine of order, and consequently of genuine philosophy, that a new principle within will seek to have a new form without. The subjective must have the objective in harmony and correspondence with

itself, otherwise it cannot freely operate and realize its results.

Hence it is, that when a new principle and a new influence begin to operate within or from above, new forms without, or in our civil and religious life in the world, are indispensably required. Thus the divine declaration, “Behold, I make all things new!" is carried out, at the establishment of a new dispensation, even to the letter. Thus at the institution of the Christian dispensation, all the old forms of the Jewish church and polity were broken up and dispersed. The old bottles could not receive the new wine without being burst and destroyed. New forms of worship, and new institutions of civil polity, were established in the world. The new subjective within gradually formed for itself a new objective without, and all things became new. In like manner at the present time, when a new dispensation of Christianity, understood by the New Jerusalem in the Revelation, is being established in the world, a similar process is going on; but with a power and speed much greater than at the establishment of the first Christian church, because the divine medium, the new heavens formed since the Lord's first advent into the world, and from which "the church must come down upon earth," are now, on account of their plenary formation, far more effective and active in transmitting and impressing their renovating and salutary influences from the Lord upon the minds of men, than prior to the last judgment alluded to above. Hence the internal changes which have, during the last sixty years, even to the amazement of all thinking men, taken place in human minds. Principles and modes of thought are no longer the On every subject of investigation and intelligence new principles are developed; and the peruke, pigtail, and ruffles of our grandfathers, are not more unlike the present modes of dress, than their principles and creeds of mental attire are like the present modes of thought and perception, which are now beginning to clothe the human mind. The great centre of the new internal denoted by the "new heavens," is the Lord in his divine Human; and when this centre is acknowledged, the "new heavens" are opened, and the new internal is about to be formed in the human mind and in the church. Nothing can resist the operation of this power. "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John xii. 32.) Hitherto the Lord in his " 'glorious Body," his divine Human, has not been lifted up, through a living faith in the minds of men, from the earth. And the church has consequently remained earthly and worldly, and has not become spiritual and heavenly. "The Lamb has been slain from the foundation of the world,"—that is, the Lord in his divine Humanity has not been properly acknowledged in the church since its commencement. But now "He is alive for

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evermore, and has the keys of hell and of death,—all power in heaven and on earth."

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Whatever, therefore, in the externals of the church, in its unscriptural and irrational creeds, the "traditions of men,"-its forms of worship, its prayers and thanksgivings, in which the Lord in his divine Human, in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwells, is not acknowledged and worshiped as the one only divine Object of adoration and praise,-in short, whatever is contrary to this one great saving principle of all faith and love, and of genuine Christianity, cannot stand; it must be broken to pieces like a potter's vessel, as not capable of containing the new wine the new and spiritual truths of a renovated Christianity. A new earth must be formed, old things must pass away, and all things must become new." Here is the inmost cause of the great changes now taking place so universally in the world. All forms of civil polity which are grounded in selfishness, or in the maintenance of exclusive interests,—to the injury of the millions for the supposed benefit of the few--all such forms must, in like manner, be broken up and scattered to the winds. "We look for a new earth, in which righteousness shall dwell." (2 Peter, iii. 13.) But the new earth cannot be formed until the old earth is removed; and do we not now behold this work going on more speedily than ever? Would to heaven that these great changes in ultimates might take place without suffering and wars! But take place they must; and there is one feature in the new movements throughout Europe which causes us to hope that these revolutions and changes will be effected without the reënactment of the horrible scenes which marked the career of former revolutions. This feature is the "fraternization" which seems, externally at least, to influence the nations one towards another. They all, indeed, have one common object, that of establishing civil and religious freedom throughout the world; and therefore the ground for international wars does not appear to exist. This was not formerly the case, when the reign of absolutism and despotism was so strong in the earth. The cause is not now the cause of the kings and despots; but of the nations and peoples of the earth. Why, then, should they not fraternize with one another, and counteract the efforts which the hells are now making to kindle the fires of war between nations? The fear, we must confess, which darkens our hope that this may be the case, is, that owing to the utter consummation of the Christian church amongst all nations, the fraternizing principle has not sufficient ground in men's minds to realize what is so devoutly to be desired.

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Let each, however, remember, that in his individual constitution a

new earth" must be formed, which is effected in proportion as our external man is renewed with spirit and life from the Lord in the internal, that we may "thus walk in newness of life." (Rom. vi. 4)

SCRUTATOR.

NEW CHURCH LITURGIES.

TO THE EDITOR.

DEAR SIR,-As a revision of the liturgy in general use among us is now contemplated, I trust it will not be deemed inopportune to offer some remarks with reference to a few of the subjects more immediately under consideration.

It has long been matter of discussion in the Old Church, whether it be best to make use of forms only, in the public worship of God, or whether the example of the early Christians should not be followed in the use of extemporary prayer.

The advocates of both these systems have succeeded in proving many disadvantages attributable to the peculiar modes of practice adopted and insisted on by each other.

Those who defend the use of formal liturgies consider, that however appropriate extemporary prayer may sometimes be, it is not safe or proper at all times, and on all occasions, to depend upon the efforts of an individual, whose prayers will always bear some considerable analogy to his own spiritual state. Besides which, the people not having a previous knowledge of the expressions about to follow, cannot so fully prepare their minds for joining devotionally in the service as would be desir, able. However much in accordance the prayer may be with the internal feelings of the minister, it may be altogether inappropriate to the states of his hearers—and perhaps not even in accordance with their ideas of Truth. It, in fact, gives the speaker an opportunity of putting error into a form that must ever be most repulsive to the well-regulated mind. On the other hand, those who oppose the use of forms make use of the following arguments against them :-That with the only exception of our Lord's Prayer, we have no formal prayers enjoined or recommended in the Scriptures of the New Testament; but that on the contrary, we may find by a perusal of the Acts of the Apostles, that Christians in the first ages of the church made use of no forms whatever, but are represented as addressing themselves to the Lord under a variety of circumstances, and always employing such prayers as were most appropriate to

the particular occasion which may have called them together; a beautiful illustration of which may be found in the language of Peter and John, as recorded in the fourth chapter of Acts. They further observe, that forms of prayer not unfrequently beget, or at least encourage, a mere formal system of worship, devoid of spiritual vitality;—the frequent repetition of the same expressions having the effect of engendering an indifference as to their proper use and signification. Many of those who approve the formal use of the Lord's Prayer, do so on the ground that it is the only prayer of universal application; the only one suited to all states and conditions of men; and that it embodies within itself what no other form can be said to do; viz., infinite perfection, as emanating from Him who is the Divine Truth itself.

All the forms made use of in public worship should be of such a nature as the congregation can most fully and perfectly unite in, and the degree of perfection to be predicated of them must be measured by the degree of unity actuating the feelings and perceptions of the congregation. It is on this account that the same forms will not be the most suitable under all circumstances. The example of the Lord himself, as presented to us in the Gospel, and which is a model for our imitation, is worthy of deep consideration. It may be observed, that though Jesus Christ is frequently said to have preached in public,-sang in public, and done many wonderful works, He is never described as praying in public. So far from this, we find that it was His invariable practice to retire into the wilderness, or some solitary place, for the purposes of devotion, which strictly accords with His own Divine injunction as recorded in the Sermon on the Mount:- "When thou prayest thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men;-verily, I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou when thou prayest enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret."

It may here be observed, that the practice of extemporary prayer by the Lord's disciples was connected with a peculiar degree of inspiration, which does not exist at the present day, and by reason of which those effusions were frequently followed by miraculous manifestations. From which it would appear, that the minds both of the Apostles and of their hearers were prepared in a way altogether wonderful, not only for giving utterance to the prayer, but for unitedly appropriating its contents. "And when they prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake the word of God with boldness."

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