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Augustin, Chrysostom, Eusebius, Cyril, Eustachius, Gregory, Epiphaniu Theodoret, Basil the Great, Theophylact, Hilary, Origen, Nicephorus, Nyssenius, Virgilius Leo, see page 840, 878, It is also confirmed from the Word, in many places, see pages 608, 844, 847, 852, 861, 863, 869. That Christ's human nature has received the most excellent, the greatest and supernatural properties, and the celestial prerogatives of majesty, strength, and power, page 774. Moreover, the spirit of all wisdom, page 781. That Christ operateth in, with, and through, both natures, and through the human, as by the organ of Deity, see page 773, 779, 847. That this takes place by the hypostatic union, glorification, and exaltation, page 774, 779. That in the state of humiliation, He emptied Himself, and did not put forth and manifest that majesty always, but when it seemed good to Him, until He put off the form of a servant, after the resurrection, and entered into the very Divine Glory and Majesty, see pages 608, 764, 767. That by virtue of the hypostatic union, He wrought miracles, even in the state of exinanition, see pages 166, 767. That Christ is our Redeemer, Mediator, Head, High Priest, and King, as to both natures, page 773. That Christ was essentially exalted to the right hand of God, according to His human nature, page 608. That He is at the right hand of God, that He hath risen above all the heavens, and actually filleth all things, and ruleth every where, not only as God, but also as man, as the prophets have prophesied concerning Him, into the possession of which he actually came, according to the Human nature, page 768. That the right hand of God is every where, and that Christ according to His humanity governs all things by His presence, and holdeth all things under His feet, see page 600. That through the unity of the person were given to Christ, as to the human nature, majesty, glory, omnipotence, and omniscience, with the most inward dominion of all things, see pages 737, 608, 834. App. page 147, 148. That Christ, by the personal union and exaltation according to the flesh, being seated at the right hand of God, received all power in heaven and upon earth, 833. That Christ, even according to the human nature, has all power in the heavens and the earth, see p. 775, 779. This is confirmed by passages from the Scriptures, see page 775, 776, 780. That Christ, according to the human nature, is omnipotent, see page 3, 10, 611, 768, 783, 785. App. page 150. That the regal office of

Christ is this, that as God-Man, in both natures, as King and Lord of heaven and earth, He might govern, by His most presence, all things in the kingdom of power, grace, and glory, see page 787, 876. App. page 149. That the flesh of Christ is vivifying, and that Christ possesses the power of vivifying according to the human nature, see page 6, 776, 777, 783. App. 152. That Christ, according to both natures, is to be adored and worshipped, agreeably to the Augsburg Confession, see page 276. App. 151. That Christ overcame the devil, hell, and damnation, see pages 767, 613, 614, 788. App. 150. Should double the number of quotations from the Formula Concordiæ be required, concerning the person of Christ, as well as concerning justification by faith alone, they shall be produced the next opportunity.

Amsterdam, May 22nd, 1769.

EMAN. SWEDENBORG.

P. S. This original letter, or a copy thereof, please to deliver to the venerable Consistory; it might also be proper, that the Right Reverend Bishop should have one presented to him.

CEREMONY

Of the Dedication of the New Jerusalem Temple, in Philadelphia.

Agreeably to the promise contained in the first number of the Repository, we now proceed to lay before our readers a brief account of the ceremony of consecrating the New Jerusalem Temple, in the city of Philadelphia, which was performed by the Reverend John Hargrove, minister of the New Jerusalem Church in Baltimore, assisted by the Reverend Maskell M. Carll, of Philadelphia.

On the morning of the first of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventeen, the members of the congregation, together with a number of strangers, convened, for the purpose of witnessing the interesting ceremony. At the usual hour of morning worship, the people being assembled, the officiating and assistant ministers, clothed in appropriate garments, entered the temple,

reading alternate verses of the twenty-fourth Psalm. A hymn, adapted to the occasion, was then sung; after which, the following address and prayer were delivered by the officiating minister:

"Dearly beloved in the Lord,

"Forasmuch as divine order requireth that houses, or temples, should be erected, for the public service of God, and separated from all common and profane uses, in order that our minds may be filled with greater reverence for the glorious majesty of heaven, our hearts affected with more solemn devotion, and a deeper sense of the Divine Presence; and that in our humble worship, there may be a fulness of conjunction with our Great Creator; (which pious works have ever been graciously approved by Him)—

"Therefore we are met together here this day, in His name and holy fear, to set apart and dedicate this house, in solemn manner, to the pious observance of the several offices of religious worship; agreeable to, and as permitted by, the laws of our free and happy country.

In order, therefore, to proceed with that piety and humility, which become us as Christians, we affectionately and respectfully invite you all, who are here present, to join with us, while we address the throne of heaven for a blessing upon our present services and offerings.

LET US PRAY.

"O, Thou greatest and best of Beings! The Creator of all worlds, and the Redeemer of all men ; JEHOVAH JESUS, mighty in power, and of majesty incomprehensible, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, much less the walls of temples made with hands; and who, notwithstanding, hast been graciously pleased to promise Thy special presence, in whatever place two or three of Thy faithful servants shall assemble in Thy name, to offer up their praises and supplications unto Thee; vouchsafe, O Lord, to be present with us, who are here met together, with humility and readiness of heart, to consecrate this house to the honour of Thy great and divine human name, separating it, henceforth, from all unhallowed, ordinary, and common uses, and dedicating it to Thy service, for offering up to Thy glorious majesty the sacrifices of prayer and thanksgiving; for celebrating Thy holy sacraments; for reading and preaching Thy Holy Word; for blessing Thy

people in Thy name, and for the performance of other holy ordinances belonging to Thy house. Accept, O Lord, this service at our hands, and bless it with such success, as may tend most to Thy Glory, and the furtherance of our happiness, both temporal and spiritual, now and evermore. Amen."

The Lord's Prayer then followed, and was succeeded by another appropriate hymn; after which, the morning service, in conformity with the Liturgy, lately adopted by the churches at New York and Philadelphia, was performed by the assistant minister, selecting, for the lessons, the beautiful and impressive recital of the dedication of Solomon's Temple, as recorded in the first Book of Kings, chapter viii. from the 22d to the 62d verse, and the glorious description of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, recorded in the twenty-first chapter of the Book of Revelations. A sermon, from these words, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth," was then pronounced by the officiating minister; and the service concluded with a solemn hymn and benediction.

The excellent discourse, the appropriate selection of the hymns and music, rendered delightful by the melodious notes of a sweettoned organ, united to the feeling and devotion, which were apparent throughout, all conspired to render the ceremonies of the day in a high degree solemn and impressive.

[From the Intellectual Repository, No. 1.]

LETTERS

то

SERIOUS CHRISTIANS, OF ALL DENOMINATIONS.

LETTER I.

Permit me, before I call your attention to the subject of Baron Swedenborg's pretensions, as a divinely commissioned teacher, to remind you of the great importance of heavenly and eternal truth, and how much it is the duty of every individual to be earnest and sincere in his inquiries after it. For if there be any such thing as truth, as most assuredly there must, of what infinite moment must it be to an intellectual being, to be rightly informed con

cerning it. We boast of our reason, as being the distinguishing prerogative of man; but if this faculty, instead of leading us to adopt the dictates of truth, is perverted to favour erroneous conclusions, we have little ground to be proud of our pre-eminence. The instinct of inferior animals is indeed very limited, but it never errs: the superior powers of man are capable of taking the most unbounded range, and of penetrating to the inmost recesses of science and intelligence; but they are liable, and in the present degraded state of human nature are very prone, to take a devious course: and it is vain to talk of the superiority we derive from reason, unless it discharge its proper office, in conducting us to the temple of real wisdom. Nothing that we hear or read is of any real utility, unless it enlarges our knowledge of truth; except so far as, by exercising our faculties of reason and judgment, it prepares us for a more perfect apprehension and reception of truth, when it is offered to our acceptance. Even in things of a temporal and worldly nature, in matters of history and human science, it is discreditable to a rational being to hold wrong sentiments. These, however, are subjects in which but a comparatively small number of mankind is interested to any great degree; but things of a spiritual and eternal nature are equally important to all. On a right apprehension of these momentous concerns, our progress in the regeneration, and possibly even our salvation itself, depends. It is here, therefore, that we should be most on our guard against delusion, and should prosecute our inquiries after the truth with the most serious solicitude; for respecting these, if the light that is in us be darkness, how great is that darkness! We who profess the doctrines of the New Church, do not, indeed, with some sects of professing Christians, consign to perdition all those who differ from us in opinion; for we are aware that, great as the importance of truth is, there is another heavenly principle, of which the regenerate man is made a partaker, the importance of which is still greater; and this is good; and we are assured that whoever is really principled in the latter, will, sooner or later, in this world or the next, gratefully acknowledge the former. But we are deeply sensible that to be principled in good is not the lot of man by birth. We admit, with the generality of Christians, that our hereditary nature, however it became so, is nothing but evil. We acknowledge that this nature is to be changed and renewed, and its corruptions renounced and

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