and meaning of goodness, that it is not meritorious: whereas, they who have no such charity and faith, cannot separate from goodness the idea of merit or desert.

5. The Lord himself teaches that we ought not to do good with a view to recompense or reward, Luke vi. 32 to 35. That man of himself can do no good which shall have in it the real essence of goodness, we are further taught by the same Divine authority, in John iii. 27, and xv. 4 to 8.

6. Inasmuch as all goodness and truth are from the Lord, and nothing from man; and inasmuch as the goodness which is from man is not goodness, it is a plain consequence that all merit belongeth unto the Lord, and none unto man. The merit of the Lord is this, that he hath wrought salvation for mankind by his own power; and likewise that he continueth to save all those who do good from him. Hence it is, that in Holy Scripture he is called just, or righteous, to whom the merit and righteousness of the Lord are imputed, and he is called unrighteous to whom are imputed his own righteousness and his own merit.

7. The satisfaction attending the love of doing good separate from the consideration of recompense, is the reward which abideth to eternity; for Heaven and eternal happiness are insinuated by the Lord, into the exercise of such disinterested goodness.-H. D. 107 to 114.

8. The proper question then is, whether men perform their actions from love to the neighbour, or from self-love.-If we are desirous of truly answering this question, in relation to ourselves, we shall meet with much less difficulty in forming a correct opinion if we look within, than if we look at our outward conduct. We may externally conform pretty well to the law of devoting our lives to the good of others, and yet have more reference to our own good than theirs. Do we generally look beyond the good which our actions do to others; and think mainly of the reward, or the ultimate good that will accrue to ourselves? Do we undertake and perform the labor of doing good to others, having our affections mainly devoted to their good, or are our affections most interested in the reward? Does our happiness consist in doing them good, or in thinking of, receiving, and possessing the reward?

The thoughts and affections of the good man, are devoted primarily to the good which he does to others. He thinks and cares little for reward, in proportion as he loves his neighbor; and when he becomes what he should be, he does good, and lends, hoping for nothing: and he finds his whole reward and happiness in keeping the commandments. He wants no compensation, and thinks of none, for keeping them; he de

lights in the law of the Lord, and not in the rewards of obedience to it.

Happiness consists in gratifying our loves; and those whose ruling loves are love to the Lord and the neighbor, find their happiness in doing good, because in this their loves are gratified: But with the wicked, every thing is reversed; what they call happiness, results from having others do good to them, and subservient to them, and in receiving reward.

The idea of happiness as a reward for doing good, or of any thing as a reward which will give happiness, is derived wholly from our selfishness,-and is never realized.-If we learn to make the good of others, the primary end of our words and actions, and cease to seek for happiness as a reward, we shall find it. Without seeking for it, we shall enjoy it in performing every good deed.-Worcester.

(See also, Note GG. No. 5.)

NOTE TT.

Of Angels. (See Note A. No. 12.)

1. That Heaven is from the human race, may be manifest from this consideration, that Angelic minds and human minds are similar, each enjoying the faculty of understanding, of perceiving, and of willing, and each being formed to receive Heaven; for the human mind hath a relish for wisdom like an Angelic mind, but the reason why it doth not so far attain wisdom in the world, is because it is in an earthly body, and in that body its spiritual mind thinks naturally; but it is otherwise when it is loosed from that bodily bond, in which case it no longer thinks naturally, but spiritually, and when it thinks spiritually, it then thinks what is incomprehensible and ineffable to the natural man, thus it becomes wise as an Angel; from which circumstances it may be manifest, that the internal of man, which is called his spirit, is in its essence an Angel, which, when it is loosed from the earthly body, is in a human form alike with an Angel.

2. Whosoever is instructed concerning Divine order, may also understand that man was created to become an Angel, because in him is the ultimate of order in which that principle may be formed, which is of Heavenly and Angelic wisdom, and which is capable of being renewed and multiplied: Divine order never in any case stops in a middle point, and there forms any thing without its ultimate, for it is not in its fullness and perfection, but proceeds to an ultimate; but when

it is in its ultimate, it then forms something, and likewise by mediums there collected, renews itself, and gives birth to further productions, which is effected by procreations;-wherefore in the ultimate is the seminary of Heaven,

H. and H. 314, 315.

3. What is the quality of the wisdom of the Angels of Heaven, it is difficult to comprehend, because it transcends human wisdom, so far as to preclude all comparison, and what transcends human wisdom appears to have no reality: some of the things also, by which it is to be described, are unknown, and these, before they become known, are in the understanding as shadows, and thus also conceal the thing as to its proper quality in itself; nevertheless they are such things as may be known, and may, when they are known, be comprehended, provided only, that the mind be delighted with them, for delight hath light along with it, because it is grounded in love; and to those who love the things which relate to Divine and Heavenly wisdom, light shines from Heaven, and gives illustration.

4. What the quality of the wisdom of the Angels is, may be concluded from this circumstance, that they are in the light of Heaven, and the light of Heaven in its essence is Divine truth, or Divine wisdom, and this light enlightens at the same time their internal sight, which is that of the mind, and their external sight, which is that of their eyes,—for the light of Heaven is Divine truth. The Angels also are in celestial heat, which in its essence is Divine good, or Divine love, from which they derive the affection and desire of growing wise.

5. Another circumstance also conspires to produce such wisdom of the Angels, and that is, that all things which they see with their eyes, and perceive with their senses, are in agreement with their wisdom, inasmuch as they are correspondences, and hence the objects are forms representative of such things as relate to wisdom. Besides, the thoughts of the Angels are not bounded, and contracted by ideas grounded in space and time, like human thought, for spaces and times are proper to nature, and the things proper to nature withdraw the mind from spiritual things, and take away extension from intellectual vision:—the thoughts of the Angels are not led downwards to things terrestrial and material, nor are they interrupted by any cares respecting the necessaries of life, thus neither are they withdrawn by those things from the delights of wisdom, like the thoughts of men in the world; for all things come to them gratis from the Lord-and more

over they are gifted with delights and pleasantnesses according to the reception of wisdom from the Lord.

6. How great the wisdom of the Angels is, may be manifest from this consideration, that in the heavens there is a communication of all things, the intelligence and wisdom of one being communicated to another, heaven being a communion of all goods: the reason is, because heavenly love is such, that it willeth that what is its own should be another's, wherefore no one in heaven perceives his own good in himself as a good, unless it be also in another, whence likewise is derived the happiness of heaven: this quality the Angels derive from the Lord, whose Divine love is of such a nature.

7. The Angels are continually perfecting in wisdom, but still they cannot be so far perfected to eternity, as to attain to any proportion between their wisdom and the Divine wisdom of the Lord, for the Divine wisdom of the Lord is infinite, and that of the Angels finite, and no proportion is given between what is infinite and what is finite.

8. Inasmuch as wisdom perfects the Angels, and makes their life, and whereas heaven with its goods flows in with every one according to his wisdom, therefore all in heaven desire wisdom, and appetite it, almost as a hungry man appetites food; science, also, intelligence and wisdom, are spiritual nourishment, as food is natural nourishment; they also mutually correspond to each other.-H. & H. 265 to 274.

9. Such as are principled in mutual love, are continually advancing in heaven to the spring-time of their youth; and the more thousands of years they pass, they attain to a more joyous and delightful spring, and so continue on to eternity with fresh increases of blessedness, according to their respective proficiencies and gradations of mutual love, charity and faith. Those of the female sex who had departed this life, broken with the infirmities of old age, but after having lived in faith towards the Lord, in charity towards their neighbor, and in all the social duties of conjugal affection, after a succession of ages appear as advancing towards perfection in the bloom of youthful beauty surpassing all description; for goodness and charity form their own image in such persons, and express their delights and beauties in every feature of their faces, inasmuch, as they become real forms of charity.— Such is the form of charity, which in Heaven is represented to the life; for it is charity, that pourtrays it, and is portrayed in it, and that in a manner so expressive, that the whole Angel, more particularly as to the face, appears as charity itself, in a personal form of exquisite beauty, affecting the soul of the spectator with something of the same grace:-by

the beauty of that form the truths of faith are exhibited in an image, and are also thereby rendered perceptible. Such as have lived in faith towards the Lord, that is, in a faith grounded in charity, become such forms, or such beauties in another life;--all the Angels are such forms, with an infinite variety, and of such is Heaven composed. In a word, to grow old in Heaven, is to grow young.—A, C. 553.

10. Heavenly joy in itself, such as it is in its essence, cannot be described, because it is in the inmost principles of the life of the Angels, and thence in singular the things of their thought and affection, and from these in singular things of speech, and in singular the things of action;-it is as if the interiors were fully open and unloosed to receive delight and blessedness, which is dispersed into singular the fibres, and thus throughout the whole; whence its perception and sensation is such as to admit of no description, for what commences from inmost principles flows in into singular the things which are derived from those principles, and propagates itself always with augmentation towards the exteriors.

H. H. 409.

NOTE UU.

A Compendium of the chief and leading doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church,-drawn up by the Editor of this work, for the use and instruction of his own children.

I. That the Lord Jesus Christ is the only God of Heaven and earth,- -our Creator, Redeemer and Regenerator. (See Notes B. C. D. and E.)

II. That in this one God there is a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit,-the Father dwelling in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from him. (See Notes B. C. D. and E.)

*This simple yet dignified idea of the Trinity is entirely consistent with the important doctrine of the Divine Unity so uniformly taught in the Sacred Scriptures, and so essential to all true worship. The usual manner, in the old Church, of addressing the Father for the sake of the Son, besides not being warranted by Scripture, conveys an idea to the mind, of the inferiority of the Son, which no ingenuity of language can dissipate,-and is more nearly allied to the doctrine of the Socinians than Trinitarians are perhaps themselves

aware of.

The frequent manner also, of addressing prayers "to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, has the distracting tendency of inculcatin the idea of Three distinct Divine Beings; and, with many simple minds, it ha