lingly, and thus not in the spirit of that freedom, which heavenly love and heavenly wisdom never fail to inspire. For such is the force of His divine argument, if regarded only according to the letter, thus as implying that it is lawful on the sabbath-day to save the life of a sheep, which has fallen into a pit. But how much greater is the force of this argument when spiritually understood, or when interpreted according to its spiritual and internal meaning! For according to that meaning, by a sheep is here to be understood, the affection of good in man; and by this sheep falling into a pit is to be further understood, the affection of good immersed in false principles and persuasions; for by a pit, and especially an infernal pit, whensoever the expression occurs in the sacred scriptures, such persuasions and principles are always signified. The argument of the BLESSED JESUS therefore, when considered in its full force, is this, that, as He afterwards expresses it, It is lawful to do well on the sabbath-day; in other words, it is lawful to save the life of a sheep, whether considered in a natural or a spiritual sense, thus it is lawful to do any thing by which the benefit either of animal or of mental life may be promoted; this being the very ground and intention of the sabbath to promote the best interests of man, and therefore especially to lift the sheep out of the pit; in other words, to elevate the affection of good out of false persuasions, to seek conjunction with the ETERNAL TRUTH, and thus with the GoD of that truth, which is the true sabbath.

Q. And what further instruction do you learn from the question which JESUS CHRIST proposes on this occasion, when He asks, How much then is a man better than a sheep?

A. I am led by the question to examine the distinct natures and qualities of a man and of a sheep; and from such examination I am conducted to the important discovery, that a man and a sheep are distinguished from each other principally by this mark and character, that, man, as being figurative of heavenly wisdom or intelligence, has thus the faculty from GoD of elevating his thought to an eternal end; and not only so, but also of acknowledging in humility and thankfulness, that his life, with all its powers and enjoyments, are from a divine source, and capable of being conjoined with that source; whereas a sheep, as being figurative only of a natural affection, possesses no such quality, being not only incapable of elevating his thought to an eternal object, but also of conjoining himself by affection with any other but temporal objects.

Q. But it is lastly added, Then saith He to the man, Stretch forth thine hand: and he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole, like as the other-what do you here understand by the injunction of JESUS CHRIST, stretch forth thine hand; and by the man's compliance, as expressed in these words, and he stretched it forth?

A. According to the literal sense of the history, both the LORD's injunction and the man's compliance, have relation only to the stretching

forth the hand of the body which had before been withered; but according to the spiritual sense of the miracle here recorded, by the LORD'S injunction to stretch out his hand, is to be understood the divine will and pleasure, that man should exercise freely, and as of himself, the powers both of love and of wisdom, or of goodness and truth, imparted to him continually by his MERCIFUL CREATOR; yet that he should do so under the constant grateful acknowledgment that those powers are not his own, but perpetual gifts from a divine bounty; and by the man's compliance with this injunction is further to be understood, his free exertion of the spiritual powers with which he was invested, whilst he humbly acknowledged that those powers were from GoD, and yet exercised them as if they were his own, absolutely independent of their divine source.

Q. And what do you conceive to be the force and meaning of the concluding words, And it was restored whole, like as the other?

A. According to the sense of the letter, these words again have reference only to the hands of the body, teaching that one was made sound and whole as the other; but according to the spiritual sense, they have a deeper meaning and signification, as having relation to the mental powers above spoken of, viz. to the power of the human will, and the power of the human understanding; in other words, to the power of goodness, and to the power of truth, or, as it be otherwise expressed, to the power of love, and to the power of

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wisdom. Agreeable, therefore, to this application of the words, they were intended to teach the important and edifying lesson, that when either of the above powers has been in a state of disorder and infirmity, and is afterwards restored by divine aid to order and strength, its restoration is such, in measure and degree, as to render it exactly suited to the other, so that each power shall be equally balanced and proportioned to the other. Thus, as in the formation of the human body, a wonderful providence, we find, is continually in exercise, to preserve a due proportion of the limbs, so that the right arm, and the right leg, for instance, may be exactly fitted to the left, both in size and shape; in like manner the same providence is continually operative to preserve the same fitness and meetness in the powers of the mind, and this in such a sort, that the power of the will shall always keep pace with the power of the understanding; or what is the same thing, the power of goodness with the power of truth, and vice versa. Accordingly, it is ordained of the divine wisdom and mercy, that no man shall possess more of goodness than he possesses of truth, or more of love than he possesses of wisdom, or more of will than he possesses of understanding, and vice versa; and this, with the divine view, that the spiritual form of man, like the bodily, may be in exact harmony and proportion, which would not be the case, unless the relative powers were fitted to each other in the manner above described.

Q. What then is the general instruction which you learn from this miracle?

A. Under the figure of a withered hand, I learn to discern, not only a bodily imperfection and weakness, but also a mental one, consisting in a defect of the operation either of love or of wisdom, or, what amounts to the same, either of goodness or of truth, in the church in general, and in its members in particular. But whilst I am taught thus to see and to lament human defect and imperfection, I am taught, at the same time, to discover and to rejoice in a divine mercy and "omnipotence, brought near in the INCARNATE GOD, for the removal of disorder, and the restoration of order in the diseased constitution of man. I am resolved, therefore, under all my spiritual infirmities, to apply to that God for relief, and especially when I find that my hand is withered, whether it arise from a defect of heavenly love and goodness in my will, or of heavenly wisdom and truth in my understanding. I am resolved also to cherish in my mind and life the just and proper idea of the sabbath-day, which is inculcated in the history of this miracle, by believing it to be a day sanctified to welldoing, or to the performance of all those good works which lead to the enjoyment of an eternal sabbath, consisting in deliverance from the powers of evil, and in consequent restoration to a blessed conjunction of life with the FATHER OF MERCIES, whose high and holy name is JESUS CHRIST. Thus may I humbly hope under every defect and infirmity, whether of will or of un