appeal to the Church at large, but especially to the ladies, to assist them in their work of charity. When it is remembered that the society is very limited in number, and the whole expenses fall upon a few, and these few subscribe most liberally, and to the full extent of their power, it is hoped that a response will be cheerfully given to this appeal. The time and place will be fixed in about six weeks; in the meantime contributions will be thankfully received by Mrs. Sporle, Tavern-street; Mrs. Harvey, Halifax, near Ipswich; all of Ipswich; also by Miss Lufkin, Brightlingsea; Mrs. Chapman and Mrs. Franks, Wivenhoe. Contributions to consist of articles of general utility, needle and fancy work, books, maps, engravings, drawings, arti We have received Nos. 1 and 2 of the above series. The stories are selected from the works of Mr. Arthur by the publisher. They are very short, but some striking New Church doctrine is admirably condensed in each, and brought down to the easy comprehension of young children. The prayer in No. 2, though extremely beautiful, can hardly be classed under the designation of "stories." This has a neat illustration. So far we may say that we have not yet seen any publication so well adapted for New Church children. MINUTES OF THE NEW CHURCH.-The "Minutes of the New Church Conference, for 1850," are now published, price 6d., and may be ordered of any bookseller. Marriages. Married, at Edinburgh, on the 30th August, 1850, by the Rev. W. Bruce, Mr. Richard Cottam, engraver, to Miss Catherine Watt, both of Edinburgh. Married, on Sunday, September 15th, at the Church in Cross-street, Hatton Garden, London, by the Rev. W. Mason, Mary Anne W. Hodson, third daughter of Mr. J. S. Hodson, to Mr. Benj. Page Searle, of Pentonville. Obituary. The following obituary, copied from an old number of "The Gentleman's Magazine," has been sent to us by a correspondent, who expresses a wish for its insertion, as the subject of it appears, even at so early a period, to have had a high admiration of the works of Swedenborg : December 10th 1784, at East Malling, Kent, aged 78, Thomas Hartley, M.A.R., Rector of Winwick, Northamptonshire, author of many excellent discourses, a "Treatise on the Millennium," &c. He was a person of rare natural endowments, and employed them in that best of purposes, the promotion of real internal piety; preferring this to all forms and names amongst men, he sought out the sincere lovers of it, under the different religious distinctions, to be his friends and companions. His faith was not a dead or imaginary faith, for he showed it by his works. In his conversation and deportment he was humble and devout, abounding in love; of charitable sentiments towards others, inoffensive as a child, instructive as the man of wisdom. Beyond a moderate supply of his necessities, he only esteemed this world's goods as the means of a generous beneficence, which he constantly practised. His life adorned his doctrine, and who can doubt that the end of such a life is blessed? He translated into English the writings of Baron Swedenborg, with whom he had been acquainted, and of whom he was a great admirer. Cave and Sever, Printers, 18, St. Ann's-street, Manchester. THOSE passages in Holy Scripture which announce and offer to man a state of rest, appeal with force to the mind. Subjected to much labour and care, both of mind and body, he sighs for a state of repose, and finds any promises precious which assure to him the repose he needs. He has this assurance in the Lord's divine words,-" Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matt. xi. 28, 29.) And also, in the apostle's words, "There remaineth, therefore, a rest for the people of God." (Heb. iv. 9.) Since, then, there is a rest in store for the people of God, it is necessary that they should rightly understand in what this rest consists. It is the more necessary because of the erroneous opinions so often formed on this subject. How often it is conceived of the blessing of rest, that it is a state of total inactivity! In this paper we will offer some observations tending to explain the true nature of rest. First, be it observed, there is no such state as absolute inaction. Every created thing is in motion. The earth, while seeming motionless, revolves in diurnal rotation, and rolls annually around the sun. The acorn, which falls to the ground, and there seems at rest, moves with the moving earth; and is active, too, in other ways. Yielding to the laws of gravitation, which are acting with it, it cleaves closely, and more closely, to its parent earth, to find a place in her bosom. Stray leaves, grass, and a light mould then cover it; and it gathers moisture, nutriment, and caloric, from the atmosphere and the earth. Developing N. S. No. 131.-VOL. XI. 2 H its innate powers, it concentrates these on its germ, which, as the rest decays, gains life and increases, and at length comes forth as another tree. A drop of water rests not where it falls, but evaporates, and is borne away. The leaf which falls and withers, and is said to die, lives on through endless metamorphoses. The human body is not inactive when it reposes, but is engaged in recruiting its forces from within. During sleep, the circulation and respiration continue, and what was wasted in labour is supplied; yea, there is in repose the greatest internal activity. When the spirit leaves the body, this clay tenement does not become really inactive, for then decomposition succeeds to the composition which went on before, and the solid matter is converted into new substances. In this way, rest is never a really inactive state. It is one kind giving place to another kind of activity. The action which wastes and weakens, gives place to the action which supplies what is wasted, and gives new strength. Rest is thus refreshment. It is a change of action. And so with any country which rests from war and its troubles. Warfare paralyses the arm of industry, and dries up the springs of social happiness; but peace, in giving repose, sets free again men's best powers, and engages them in a new and fruitful activity. The traveller, on reaching his house and home, after much toilsome journeying, engages with joy in new duties. And the tired mariner only enters a new state of activity when, after his toils at sea, he rests as he reaches the port of his destination. Let us now go from matter to mind, from natural to moral and spiritual life. To be active in thought and feeling, is not necessarily to labour and be heavy laden, nor is mental rest a state of inaction. Man is heavy laden when his mental or physical powers are unduly taxed, but not when they are active in performing what he freely wills and is equal to. The quality or amount of the action imposed, determines whether it is, or how far it is, a labour to him. His thoughts, when engaged in whatever perplexes them,-conflicting with doubts or difficulties,-are in a state of wearying labour; but let the doubts or difficulties vanish, and rest is brought to the mind. All such relief or rest is but a change of mental activity. There are false and there are true states of mental rest. The satisfied desires of the natural mind, arising from the attainment of any selfish or worldly objects, are not true states of rest; for they are unreal, or-insecure, because they are liable to be overthrown by worldly trouble, or adversity. Hence we read, "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." While unregenerate, man cannot, in a proper sense, have rest. Neither is there true rest in any merely external religion. The spiritual Moabite, who is at ease from his youth, shall have his vessels emptied out, and his bottles broken. Neither is there real rest in the flattering unction given by any system of faith which teaches salvation by any thing short of a true change in heart and life. All these may say, "Peace, peace," to their souls, but there is no peace. The foregoing observations on rest in general, will tend to illustrate the nature of true rest, or that spiritual rest which belongs to the soul. If there is no such state as inaction in external things, and these are produced by spiritual causes, it will follow that the internal life of the soul must be an active life. It must be an activity producing happiness in the soul, because happiness is our "being's end and aim." And if true happiness is only found in principles of spiritual truth and goodness, it follows, that only in such principles can spiritual rest be found. To come into this rest is, therefore, to come from falsity to truth, and from evil to good. To be in evil and falsity is to be in spiritual toil and trouble; it is to labour and be heavy laden, as to the heart and mind. This is man's fallen state, for he was created into a state of rest, from which he fell. He was made into God's image and likeness, and when so made, God rested from all his work, and his rest was the seventh or Sabbath day. And yet there was continued activity, and God still worked; for he made a garden, and made trees to grow out of it; and man had to dress and keep the garden. All this was to image man's spiritual creation into the state of purity which he was in before the fall; and the nature of that purity, as being a state of spiritual rest,a state when man had no evils to afflict him; and when he lived to and from the Lord, as represented by his keeping the garden, and eating of the tree of life. When he ate of the forbidden fruit, he introduced sorrow and trouble into the world, and had to live from the sweat of his brow. Thus was labour introduced: it was mental labour and sorrow; for this eating of fruit implied the beginning of evil, through self-will and self-love, by which man fell from God. Disorder began, which was a contrariety to the divine will and nature, and to the life proceeding from God to bless mankind, and make his image in man;-a contrariety to love and charity; to truth, order, purity, peace, and happiness. Self-love begat hatred to others, and a wish to rule over them, and appropriate their goods. Hence trouble, strife, contention, warfare, and death. The action and reaction of disorderly loves occasioned suffering and want. All this was labour and sorrow; it was that life of the wicked, who are "like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." What can give rest to fallen man in such a case? He must find it again by going back to the state which he left, that Sabbath state in which his spirit rested before. He must attend to that Divine Voice which saith, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He must come labouring and heavily laden; he must come acknowledging and feeling the burden of his sin, and his own inability to remove it, and believing that he can have rest from the Lord alone. But in thus coming, he must not regard the Lord simply as to his person, but mainly as to his Divine Essentials,—his love and wisdom,— his good and truth proceeding from him, to become the inflowing life of men. To come thus to the Lord, is to come for the reception of this life it is truly a coming as to the state of his mind, by a change of its principles, a change from falsity to truth, and from evil to good. This coming, as to state, is the spirit forsaking what is evil and false; it is the renunciation of self and its loves; it is the "shunning of evils as sins against God." This is actual repentance, which opens the door of the mind to Him who was standing and knocking there, or to the reception of new life, even new loves and perceptions from the Lord. Peace is then given to the mind,-peace from Him who is the "Prince of peace," and who saith, "My peace I give unto you." He speaks peace to the soul; He saith to the troubled waters, "Peace, be still," and there is a great calm. The mind thus gains relief; it comes, although progressively, and "through much tribulation," into a new and happy state. It comes from its doubts, fears, and conflicts with evil in temptation, into peace and rest. The mind is made anew by Him who dwells and glorifies Himself therein, and so conjoins man to Himself. Man's works are then "wrought in God," and God "works in him to will and to do." Man re-acts from the divine good and truth, and loves his neighbour as himself: he loves him by striving to promote the good and the happiness of all men; he loves uses for the sake of uses, knowing that this is truly to love his neighbour. He loves truth, and he loves order too, and becomes a form of truth and order. There is harmony, then, in the faculties and powers of his mind; yea, his mind is tuned to the harmonies of heaven. He loves and is loved. His life with others in a similar state, is the neverceasing action and re-action of principles which bring joy and happiness to one and to all. He has heaven in the soul, and the soul is at rest. This, then, is true rest. A great many passages from Holy Scripture might be given in confirmation of it. For instance, it is said, that when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard lie down with the |