that is, he spake to those in the churches, who were in the knowledge and affection of spiritual things, and had ears to hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. But that the angels of heaven can never fall so as to become infernal, may appear from hence, because they have resisted evil, and the inclination thereto, (having been once men on earth) and embraced spiritual good, and are preserved and renewed by the Lord every moment in the love of himself and each other, inasmuch as this is the very end for which he made them, and therefore he can no more cease to preserve them, than he can cease to exist and be infinite in goodness; nor can they cease to love the Lord, since there can be no greater torment than for them to depart from that good which they have confirmed themselves in the choice of: besides, had it been possible for the angels of Heaven to have fallen, and become infernal spirits, it doth not appear how they would ever have retained their integrity and innocence, but must have been all of them ever liable to fall, which is very far from being the case. The reason why angels in scripture signify spiritual persons and things, and the fall of angels that men turned from the love of Heavenly to the love of earthly things, is, because that men were designed by the Creator to become angels in another life, as the end of their being. It is said of David, that he had the wisdom of an angel of God, 2 Sam. xiv. 20. The angel said to John, I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, Rev. xxii. 9. It was said of Peter, that the young woman had heard his angel, Acts xii. 15. Hence they understood that man's soul or spirit hereafter becometh an angel. The Lord saith concerning little children, That in Heaven their angels do always behold the face of the Father, Matt. xvii. 10. That is, the spirits or interiors of infants are preserved in innocence and a degree of good by the Lord, through the medium of angels, to prepare them for his kingdom, if evil examples and inclinations in outward life did not choke and destroy those remains in many, whereby the divine order is perverted; otherwise it may be seen, that all are designed for Heaven by our good and great Creator, since he saith, It is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish, Matt. xviii. 14. Sometimes angels are called men in the WORD, as in Gen. xviii. 2. 22. and xix. 5. 8. and other places. The same light which sheweth us that man was not at once made angelical, sheweth us also that he did not by one act fall from the love of God, wherein his perfection and paradise consisted; but by degrees, in successive generations, as the day declines after noon to evening and night,

or as the year declines after midsummer to autumn and winter; or as the life of man in this world declines after maturity to old age and death; so did man, by progressive steps, turn from God and Heaven to himself and the world, and this is indeed the fall of man and angels at the same time, and the origin of evil, of death, of hell and infernal spirits, called in scripture the devil.

It is said, that in Adam all die, and that by one man's disobedience, sin entered the world, and death the wages of sin, Rom. v. 12. 1 Cor. xv. 22.; but by Adam here and the one man is to be understood the corporcal or carthly heart of man; for all who are led thereby are dead to God and spiritual things, and it was the irregular love of this part which brought sin and death into the world, and maketh mankind subject to future misery in the world

to come.

M. K.

LETTER TO BALAAM,

WHO REQUESTS AN EXPLANATION OF DEUT. XXIII. 1, 2, 3. If, indeed, your origin is from the east, and that, as you boast, (Numbers xxiv. ch. 15 v.) you are "the man whose eyes are open," you cannot but perceive, that whatsoever was recorded of old, in the sacred pages, either respecting the Israelites or the Moabites, was" written for our instruction."

The Jewish Church was, in reality, but the mere representative of a subsequent and a more glorious Church, the first period of which took place at our LORD's first advent, and the second period at his second advent, which latter advent, we have reason to believe, has already taken place; not by any personal coming of Jesus Christ, but by the opening and revelation of the interior or spiritual sense of the sacred pages, in which the LORD has his more immediate residence. From the opening and revelation of this interior sense of the WORD, the illuminated and pious believer in revealed religion will, henceforth, be enabled to discover, that every ceremony, rite and ordinance, established in the Jewish Church, was representative of some essential of God's future Church, as to doctrine or to life, to discipline or to worship. (See Collos. ii. ch. 17 v. and Heb. x. ch. 1 v.) That the Jews of old, and indeed many former Christians, never had a perception of the sublime and heavenly instruction in righteousness, which was involved in those mystical rites and precepts, is certain; for, as Paul observes, the vail on the face of Moses (or literal sense of the WORD) was not yet taken away. By a knowledge of the long lost doctrine of

correspondencies, however, this vail is now removed, whereby the "crooked ways of the LORD" are made straight; and the seventh seal of the book of life is opened.

In the sacred pages, there is a great deal said respecting marriages, and also, respecting fornication and adultery; and the man who cannot therein perceive, that more is meant than mere natural connections, has not yet had his spiritual eyes open. Yes, these terms in the holy scriptures, must certainly refer to spiritual things or principles, even the holy union between the LORD and his Church, and in a lower sense, between the two constituent principles of human nature, (to wit) the will, and the understanding, (whereby regeneration alone can be effected) or, on the other hand, the impure or adulterous union of the essential and holy truths of the sacred pages, with the evil affections of the unregenerate man. Hence we so often read of the Israelites (who repree sented the holy truths of the wORD) committing fornication with their idols; for who cannot see, that it was impossible for them to commit fornication or adultery with mere natural idols?

Thus it is said (2 Chron. xxi ch. and 11 v.) that Jehoram "made high places in the mountains of Judah; and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto," namely, to commit idolatry—and hence the mournful exclamation of Isaiah, (i ch. 21 v.) "how is the faithful city (or church, which it represented) become a harlot"! So also Babylon, or the adulterated Christian Church, mentioned in the Revelation,, (and which, I doubt not, has already obtained for ages past) is said to have made "all nations drunk with the wine of her fornication," &c. (Rev. xiv ch. 8 v. xvii. ch. 2.)

Again, on the other hand, whenever allusion is made to the holy union of Christ and his Church, or of the principles of truth in man's understanding with the holy affections of divine love in the will, then, in the room of adultery and fornication, we read of marriage and espousals. Thus Paul, (2 Corinth. xi ch. 2 v.) speaking to the believing Corinthians, says, "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin unto Christ." Moreover, such persons, in virtue of this mystical and holy marriage, are fruitful also, in every good word and work. And therefore Isaiah (liv. ch. and 1 v. )speaking of the prolific state of the church of the Gentiles, in consequence of their spiritual marriage, or union with Christ, cries out " Sing, O! barren, thou that didst not bear ; break forth into singing and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate, than those of the married wife, saith the LORD."

Under this just and spiritual view of the true nature of those marriages, and also of the adulteries, so often alluded to in the sacred and mysterious pages of Divine Revelation, let us approach this singular and delicate passage recorded in the xxiii. ch. Deut. 1 and 2 v. and we cannot fail of receiving a lesson of deep importance and heavenly instruction.

And here we may remark, that no liberal or enlightened Christian, can possibly rest in the mere literal sense of these two verses, without betraying his very limited ideas of the divine goodness, or even of justice, in believing that the child shall thus bear the iniquities of the parents, and be excluded from any holy rite or church privilege, here on earth; much less be excluded from Heaven hereafter, in consequence of the natural lasciviousness or fornication of its parents, or, in consequence of any natural or accidental infirmity or impotency, that he may unhappily labor under. If such restrictions were put in force by a less enlightened people, they ought not, by Christians, who are told by an apostle, and even by Jesus Christ himself, that the letter killeth; and that the words of the LORD, when rightly understood, are spirit and life.

1. "A man who is an Eunuch shall not enter into the Congregation of the LORD.

2. "A Bastard shall not enter into the Congregation of the LORD, even to his tenth generation”—And again,

3. An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the Congregation of the LORD, even to their tenth generation.

These words, as understood by the angels above, and also by every enlightened man of the LORD's New Church on earth, is somewhat thus:

1. A man whose spiritual conjugal principles are so deeply and unhappily injured, by a long and wilful course of sin, so that his will is altogether sunk in evil, and his understanding in errors, and thereby incapable of effecting any spiritual prolification, or an holy offspring of religious principles or actions; is thereby utterly unfit and incapable of entering in, either to the real privileges of God's people here, or, into God's eternal kingdom hereafter.

2. A (Bastard, or) man not legitimately "begotten again unto a lively hope," through the reception of faith into his understanding, and at the same time of love into his will, but being merely in faith alone, destitute of its conjugal partner love, is, during his remaining in that state, or until a full and holy conjunction of these prin

ciples is effected, (to which the number ten, or ten generations, correspond) equally incapable of those holy felicities, which God's true and legitimate children are entitled to, and actually enjoyAnd

3. Thus no Ammonite or Moabite, or those who are, spiritually speaking, of mere incestuous origin, (as these nations were the offspring of natural incestuous intercourse, between Lot and his two daughters) can, during their continuance in such state of spiritual incest, ever enter into the holy joys, or kingdom of the LORD.

Now, spiritual incest, I presume, is an unholy union between the truths of the WORD, after their reception into the understanding, with man's own hereditary and evil lusts and affections; from which we are here cautioned to abstain and beware, under the awful infelicity of being excluded forever from the true Church and Kingdom of GoD.

On this singular and delicate subject, I could enlarge, if time and room permitted, and adduce such a number of plain and powerful proofs of the propriety of thus elucidating the passage, as should be sufficient to commend their force, with conviction, to every unprejudiced and enlightened Christian: but I must conclude, hoping that the few remarks made, will open the eyes of Balaam yet more and more, to the internal beauties of the holy scriptures, and cause him again to cry out, respecting the LORD'S future, or New Church, called the New Jerusalem, (whose views of God's word are thus rational, and at the same time spiritual)— "How goodly are thy tents, O! Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O! Israel." May Balaam soon rest under them, is the prayer of J. H.

From the Port Folio.

ANECDOTES OF AMERICAN PAINTERS.

Of the artists who now flourish in England, those who profess painting may be said to be among the most numerous; and it must be a fact extremely grateful to every lover of his country, that some of them, and those the most distinguished, are Americans. The names of WEST, TRUMBULL, and COPELY, need only be mentioned in proof of my assertion.

While the lovers of the fine arts in various countries, have admired the works of these great men, there are numbers here who are yet to be informed that they are their countrymen, VANDER