church, should, by their frequent visits and kindly interest, show these little ones who are the church of the future how warm an interest it takes in their welfare. The teachers, too, will be cheered and encouraged by the sympathy manifested toward them in their unselfish labour of love. Secondly, children's services and catechisings. I can bear practical testimony to the great uses performed by having regular children's services in the church. During the short period I have laboured with the Buttesland Street Society we have had five of these, and the pleasure given and received by the children on these occasions cannot be estimated. Services of this nature, carefully prepared, interest children and parents alike, and the seed sown under such favourable conditions will, doubtless, in the Lord's good time, spring up and bear fruit abundantly. The experience of other societies will, I doubt not, amplify and confirm my own. Closely connected with this matter is the advisability of having a junior members' section; meeting either as a Bible Class on Sunday, or during the week under the presidency of the minister of the church. Judiciously conducted, a meeting of this kind would become one of the best methods of keeping our senior scholars in connection with the church. It might well take the place of catechising, where that cannot be conveniently adopted. In connection with both the foregoing, I would suggest that a children's service should be held quarterly, that the course of subjects for the preceding quarter should be submitted to the minister, who should frame his discourse to embody as far as practicable the principal heads of the subject chosen, and the senior scholars should furnish their teachers on the following Sunday with a written report of the sermon (from memory), and also such portions of the lessons which preceded it as might yet remain with them. The question, How shall we keep our children? is of vital importance to every New Church Society. It is more than ever apparent that, in the present state of the world, the New Church must increase from within. That we must start at the cradle if we are to make any great progress as a distinct religious body. A careful review of the progress made by the church, as recorded in the Minutes of Conference statistical table, is sufficient evidence of the truth of this assertion. ន source. even less The numbers added from external sources are comparatively few; but the numbers added from the Sunday-schools are satisfactory. These are facts which demand our serious consideration. We must in future see that our schools are better conducted and supported if our ranks are to be numerically strengthened from this Circumstances have led me to visit many of the New Church Societies during the present year. I have also visited places where the New Church once had a footing, which is now wanting; and the result of my observations and inquiries leads me to this conclusion, that where you find, in connection with a New Church Society, a Sunday-school well managed and heartily supported, you will invariably find a flourishing state of things prevail. On the contrary, where the Sunday-school is neglected, or entirely ignored, apathy and stagnation are the order of the day. This question, then, of the retention of our senior scholars demands our most careful attention, it will in due time be laid before you. One idea has been found to work well at Camberwell, and I believe also at Argyle Square, and that is the Sunday social meeting. At these the school and the church are brought together in happy moods for social intercourse and mutual enlightenment. Some improvements, doubtless, might be suggested, but of these we need not now speak. Reverting once again for a moment to New Church Sunday-school literature, I should like to see a "Monthly Teachers' Manual" brought out under able superintendence, wherein might be printed the quarterly address of the Union, and other short Sunday-school addresses deemed suitable for the work. Hints to teachers, series of lessons, and other equally useful matter would easily fill its pages, and meet a real need in our Sunday-schools. These, however, are matters for future consideration, at present our efforts are confined to a quarterly conference, similar in many respects to this: but, if our efforts are cordially supported by the church at large, we shall soon, I trust, be performing greater, because more practical and useful works. Such, then, are some of the aims of our Sunday-School Union, which, although but imperfectly sketched, are worthy of our highest regard. We seek in our Sunday-school work to aid good parents in their labour of love by giving a universal spirit to our religious training; we desire to repair the need occasioned by neglectful parents in supplying the treasures of heavenly wisdom to the receptive youthful mind we desire to co-operate with our brethren the angels, in supplying the vessels into which the heavenly influences can flow: : and lastly, we desire, as humble servants of our Great Lord and Master, to be faithful to the trust committed to our care, and to labour unselfishly and unceasingly for the spread of those exalted principles of goodness, truth, and usefulness, which truly constitute His kingdom: remembering for our encouragement that a kind word spoken, a good deed done, remains a power for good through all eternity. MEDITATIONS IN VERSE. MORNING. NEW-BORN, my thoughts sweet vigil keep, Spirit of Love, anoint with fire My morning sacrifice of praise; With day the cares of day return, With truthful thought and righteous hands. Lord, I would work as Thou wouldst will; I would Thy love my heart should fill, So sanctify and hallow through The inmost texture of my soul, That Thine may be, whate'er I do, The motive cause, the effect, the whole. Thus guide me on the narrow track "Hold up my goings in Thy way," My strength, my staff, my guide, my guard! Or indolence my course retard. Teach me in combat's darksome hour To wield Thy might as though 'twere mine,— An engine conscious of its power, Yet conscious, too, that power is Thine. In Thee to fight, through Thee prevail,— Teach me to trust Thee without bate, "Lord, I believe;" but faith is cold That is but credence: give beside Thy goodness wrought the Father's will; From sin, Thy spirit worketh still. My outward state with Thee I rest; My soul's transcendent consequence Rests, then, my faith upon Thy Word: Be earth from heavenly aspects viewed. To those I love, by distance riven, But deep beneath Thy central throne. By them, by us, by men on earth, AMEN. 277 Miscellaneous. SWEDENBORG'S ASTRONOMY. A which he writes? "But we cannot," notice of Mr. Clissold's new work on the Divine Order of the Universe, as interpreted by Swedenborg, with especial relation to Astronomy, appears under the above title in The Literary World, of May 11th. The writer says, "Of Swedenborg's honesty no one has a doubt. The sole question is, whether he made astronomical blunders, or whether he revealed astronomical facts." Mr. Procter's objections that he had heard nothing about Neptune or Uranus, etc., is repeated, as if the intercourse of Swedenborg with the unseen universe were to discover scientific facts rather than to disclose spiritual truths. The writer misapprehends Swedenborg's statement, that visiting spirits put on all things of his memory, when he supposes that they could hence disclose no facts relating to their social and religious life which was not already in his own mind; and the disclosure of the undiscovered facts of astronomical science as evidence of the author's authority was too tempting to be resisted. "It was singularly unfortunate," says this writer, "that the stellar personages, if they were to tell anything, did not tell what they might be supposed to know most about. If they had mentioned to the prophet that there were two planets beyond Saturn, if he had then, on their authority, announced the fact to astronomers in general, and if astronomers had verified the announcement by finding Uranus and Neptune in the parts of the heavens indicated by Swedenborg, the attention which the world in general would have paid to the rest of their intimations must have been highly augmented." The spirits from the several earths in the universe would unquestionably know most about their own social and religious state, and this is what they disclose; and had they communicated information of the existence of planets afterwards discovered by scientific investigation, it can admit of little doubt that this would have been ascribed to Swedenborg's discovery, and not to their communication. But what is to be hoped from a writer who confesses his inability to understand the subject on he says, "understand Swedenborg. He says, ' Without two suns, one living and the other dead, there can be no creation.' We have not the remotest idea what that means. Mr. Clissold attempts to render it intelligible to weak minds by introducing it with explanatory remarks, but they do not descend so low as the level of our capacity, and we are left wishing that he would explain his explanation.' THE CONFESSION OF FAITH.-The Scotch are an earnest people, and on no subject is their earnestness of character more widely displayed than in their discussion of Christian doctrine. They have grappled in their religious teaching with the most intricate and difficult questions; and if their theology has not always mellowed the character, it has sharpened the intellect. The body of the people discuss religious questions with earnestness, and the changes of opinion now going on cannot long be confined to scholars and preachers. Already we are told that intelligent laymen decline the office of elders from their unwillingness to subscribe the Church's standards. The ministers try "to talk them over," but do not always succeed; and it not unfrequently happens that men of high character, and best suited to office, are excluded. The discussion of the Confession of Faith is not confined to the general conflict of opinion, but is engaging the attention of the assemblies of the Church. An overture on the subject, introduced into the Glasgow United Presbyterian Presbytery by Rev. Fergus Ferguson, was discussed at a special meeting, and reported at length in the North British Daily Mail. The discussion shows a presentiment of coming change, and an extreme timidity in dealing with the question. We have little sympathy with some of the rationalistic, or, more correctly, naturalistic opinions of Mr. Ferguson. His exaltation of natural above revealed religion may be a part of the process whereby the utterly false teaching of the Confession is being overthrown, but a true system of Christian |