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REMAINS HOW AND WHEN ARE THEY APPROPRIATED?

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within and above his conscious mind, and are allowed to come forth only when he is prepared to receive them in a state of freedom. It must be clear from the above extract, that the possession of Remains does not secure man's salvation, but in order that this may be effected he must be changed as to his quality; and before Remains can change his quality they must be voluntarily appropriated, and thereby made his own, which can be done only in the natural mind and in actual life, as shown in the following extract :—

"Remains are goods and truths from the Lord stored up in the interiors of man; these are remitted into the exterior or natural man, when he is in a state of good; but on his coming into a state of evil they are instantly drawn back and stored up again, least they should be mixed with evils, and thereby perish. When man cannot be regenerated, Remains are in this case well reserved with him in his interiors; but whilst man is regenerating, they are then remitted from the interiors into the exteriors, so far as he is regenerated; the reason whereof is, because by regeneration the interiors are conjoined with the exteriors, and act in unity."A. C., 6156.

Nothing could exceed the plainness and truthfulness of our author's teaching in this section; it is also of a most comprehensive nature, showing what Remains are, where they are, their use, and likewise how they are appropriated. From its contents we learn that Remains are remitted by the Lord Himself into the natural mind when man is in a state of good, that is, when He sees that man is in such a state as that he can receive them if he will; but that if he will not, they are by the same Divine Power, and under the direction of the same Divine Wisdom, "instantly drawn back and stored up again" in the interiors, where man is unconscious, and are there preserved by Him who first implanted them, and whose property they are.

In addition to the fact that man is conscious of Remains only when they are remitted into the natural mind, and also that they are saving principles only in the proportion that they are voluntarily appropriated by man's cooperation with them, it is necessary before they can be his own that his evils be reduced to a state of quiescence, for otherwise the Remains cannot come forth and produce their intended effect. Hence it is said

"Evils and false principles must needs be vastated before man can be regenerated. In proportion to the residue of celestial and spiritual life after vastation, in the same proportion this residue is capable of being illustrated with truth and enriched with good. The Remains, which are goodnesses and truths from the Lord stored up with man, are what in this case receive life. Goodnesses and truths are acquired from the time of infancy even to the time of reformation,―with one person more, with another fewer,—and are reserved in his internal man; nor can they be pro

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duced or brought forth until the external man is reduced to correspondence, which is effected chiefly by temptations and by several kinds of vastation; for until corporeal things which are contrary thereto, as are the things of self-love and the love of the world, are brought into a quiescent state, celestial and spiritual things appertaining to the affections of goodness and truth cannot flow in; this is the reason why every one is reformed by application to his state and faculty, as the Lord also teaches in the parable concerning the man who went into a far country." A. C. 2967.

From what is here stated, it is very evident that man has not Remains continually present with him and at his disposal; but that he is void of all consciousness of them until they are remitted into the natural mind, and also that they are not so remitted except when the evils of his hereditary nature are reduced to a state of quiescence. From the circumstance of Remains being stored up by the Lord, and being altogether under His supervision, and also that they are brought to man's percep tion only at times, and in states when the Lord sees that they may be useful, we conclude that this is not only the best, but the only way, in which they can be effectual in the removal of evil, and in the supplying of good, so that it may be permanently fixed in the natural mind. Before Remains can be made man's own property, they must be chosen and appropriated,-nothing whatever being made his own, so as to yield the delights and pleasures of life, whether it be good or evil, but what is chosen and enjoyed in a state of freedom.

If Remains were continually present with man in his natural mind, they would not be Remains in the proper sense of the word, but only the knowledges of good and truth, which he has always present; and these are sometimes called Remains for reasons given in the first part. Were it possible for Remains to exist as such in the natural mind, and man to be influenced by them, he would then have no choice, but would be led involuntarily by their influence, and their efficacy would depend upon their force, and this, it is reasonable to suppose, would be according to their quantity. It would also follow, that he who had the greatest quantity of Remains implanted would be the best man, and he who had the fewest would be the worst; and, consequently, that salvation would be secured to the former, but not to the latter. But, blessed be the Divine Providence! this is not the case. Remains have no preponderating influence over man, nor do they in any way give him a bias; they are to his will but as objects of choice, just as his hereditary evils are, and he can either choose or refuse them according to the free determinations of his will. This may not be clearly seen by all, but it may be apprehended to some extent from the following consideration. If

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man were exposed to the unrestrained influence of his own hereditary evils, they would be overwhelming, and he would be evil of necessity; on the other hand, if the Remains which man receives after birth were left to influence him, without any counteracting force, then he would do good of necessity; but in neither case would he be, truly speaking, a man; he would neither have rationality nor liberty, nor consequently the power to appropriate anything either good or evil.

God watches over His children with the tenderest paternal love; He intends their good, and when they are in a state capable of receiving Remains, remits them into the natural mind, and then, and not before, man is conscious of them, and either receives or rejects them; if he will not receive, but altogether rejects them, then, as to spiritual life, he perishes. But when this comes to pass, it is not on account of the want of Remains being stored up within; there may be many; but it is because they cannot come forth into the natural man, or into existence; for should they be permitted to flow down into the natural mind during the excitement of lusts and falses, they would not effect reformation and purification, but they would be deprived of life-they would be suffocated, or overwhelmed as with a flood: the flood spoken of in the Word, by which all the inhabitants of the earth perished, excepting Noah and his sons, was such a one; it was the false persuasions in the natural mind, grounded in evil lusts, by which Remains, which were the principles of true manhood, were destroyed.

The natural mind being perverted, Remains cannot be remitted into it without suffering violence or death; their action being orderly and pure, it cannot exist in what is disorderly and impure; therefore, their influence, if remitted therein, would be suffocated, and, as to man's consciousness, Remains would cease to exist. This was the way in which the antediluvians perished; and thus ceased to exist that celestial degree of life which characterized the most ancient people of this earth. To such an event the following words appear to have some reference :

"When man is of such a character as to pervert the principles of goodness and truth, and when he is regardless of things celestial and spiritual, there is no influx of things celestial or goodness, but the way for their entrance is closed."A. C., 1707.

Man is hereditarily perverted; and as to his natural mind, it is thereby nothing but evils. The object of Remains is to counteract the tendencies of man's native evils, and thereby give him the capacity of being saved. Now, although the natural mind is full of evil, the Lord does not allow it to act with all its virulence and unrestrained force, or

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man would be subdued thereby, and salvation would be rendered impossible. When considering the nature of Remains, this solemn truth should not be lost sight of; that whilst a plenteous supply of Remains gives man the opportunity of becoming a better man than he could with a less supply, they also furnish him with the means of becoming more wicked. And though they are an advantage to the man who makes a right use of them, they are most certainly a disadvantage to him who abuses them, and whichsoever he does is purely the result of his free will.

Remains give man the capacity of communicating with angels, influx from the angels flowing into them as so many recipient forms; hence the remitting of Remains into the natural man, and influx from the angels, are the same thing. Remains themselves cannot flow down either substantially or formally; but as said previously, it is life which flows, and coming from, or rather through them, conveys their quality to the things in the natural mind; this influx, therefore, containing their quality, is their representative in the natural man, and it is meant by the word Remains when their descent is spoken of. By the implantation of Remains a formal conjunction is effected between man and angels; this gives the capacity of being saved; but by the choice and reception of them, an actual and real conjunction is effected, which is salvation itself; the latter is the end for which the former is given. The real conjunction with angels appears to be involved in these words:

"In regard to Remains, or goods and truths stored up in man's interiors, the case is this; when man is in good and truth from affection, thus from freedom, then good and truth are implanted; and when this effect takes place, angels from heaven approach nearer, and conjoin themselves with man; it is this conjunction which causes goods to exist with truths in man's interiors."-A. C. 5097.

By the implantation of good and truth named in this extract, it is clear that the implantation of Remains in the interiors is not meant, but the bringing of them forth into life; for what is there said is in regard to the goods and truths which are stored up in the interiors, when man from affection does good in a state of freedom, the result of which is, a nearer approach of angels, and man's conjunction with them.

Man may be in the formal conjunction, which is effected by virtue of the implantation of Remains, but if he does not choose and appropriate them by his coöperation with the Holy Spirit when he arrives at maturity, the second conjunction is not effected, and the Remains are

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altogether lost to him as saving principles; he may and does possess the capacity of being saved by virtue of Remains, still he is not saved. This appears to be taught in what follows:

"When man is in things external, that is, worldly and corporeal things, the angels are removed, and then nothing at all of those goods and truths appear; nevertheless, conjunction having been once effected, man is in the faculty of conjunction with the angels, thus with good and truth appertaining to them; but this conjunction does not take place oftener, nor in a greater degree than is well pleasing to the Lord, who arranges those things according to every use of man's life."-A. C. 5897.

From what is here stated, it would appear that there are two conjunctions, one which is effected by the mere implantation of Remains, the other by the voluntary reception thereof into the intention, thought, and life; by the former, man is gifted with the capacity of being saved, by the latter that capacity is brought into actuality, and salvation is secured. Thus, then, Remains are made man's own by his free determination to live them, and when that determination is brought into actual life.

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We conclude with the hope that it will now appear,-firstly, Remains are goods and truths stored up in the superior and unconscious degrees of man's constitution; secondly, that their use is to counteract man's hereditary evil, and give him the capacity of being saved; thirdly, that they are implanted by the Lord alone, by various means, and at different times, from birth to maturity; and fourthly, that they have to be appropriated and brought into life by man's own voluntary efforts, before they can effect the end for which they were given, viz., man's salvation. S. S.

THE TREES OF OLD ENGLAND.

No. II. THE OAK CONTINUED.

THE oak is not only a tree; it is a garden and a country; for living things innumerable find their homes and security either among the branches or upon some portion of the surface. Birds, insects, epiphytic plants, are identified with the natural history of the oak to the number probably of several hundreds, so that to study the inmates of an oaktree, is literally like exploring the streets and squares of a populous town, and taking a census of the occupations of the inhabitants. There is no special or particular bird found only or chiefly amid the foliage, nor indeed are birds ordinarily found in definite kinds of tree; only now and then, as in the case of the crossbill and the fir, do we find any

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