had not, he said, forgotten the people Departed this life at his residence, of Nottingham, nor did he expect to Shieldfield, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 13th meet with more kindness in Lancashire March, Mr. John Wilkinson, in his than from those he had left. On re- seventy-eighth year. Our dear friend ceiving their invitation he had to con- was one of the oldest members of the sider two things: How far it was an New Church in this neighbourhood. invitation from the Lord, and how far He became convinced of the truth and leaving would be best for both the beauty of the doctrines of the New DisSocieties affected. Nottingham had made pensation by the reading of New Church efforts beyond its power to retain his Tracts; and under the ministry of the services, and his departure would enable Rev. James Bradley, about the year the Society to place itself in more favour- 1820, he became a member of the able circumstances. In Manchester he Society. From that time till his had the difficulty not only of succeeding departure he continued a faithful and so able a man as Mr. Hyde, but also of consistent member of the Church in succeeding men so generally and de- this town. Through all its changes servedly esteemed as Mr. Jonathan and troubles he was a regular attender Robinson and Mr. Henry Sutton, who and supporter of the cause. On the had so ably filled the pulpit while the Society was without a minister. He should cultivate love for the people, but did not desire them to attend the services because he was minister. His great work would be to help men to know Christ, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Obituary. foundation - stone being laid of the The funeral service was read by his friend, the Rev. W. Ray, who also the following Sunday evening delivered a funeral sermon at the Society's room, Nun Street, from Rev. ii. 10, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." On the 15th February, in Elmwood, Massachusetts, at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. N. M. Keen, Mrs. Rebecca Ann Slade passed into the spiritual world. She was born in London, England, September 21, 1796. Her parents were members of the New Church Society in York Street, of which Mr. Proud was the pastor. Her mother, sister (Mrs. Jane Franklyn), and herself sang in the choir. She was a teacher in the Sabbath-school, where she met her husband, Mr. James Slade, who died in Charleston, South Carolina, whither he had gone for his health, in 1844. Mr. Goyder married them in 1822. Such was their affection for the doctrines of the New Church that they walked twelve miles to church every Sunday, and often carried a young babe in their arms. We have to record the departure into She was baptized into the New Church the eternal world, on 14th March last, in the last century. She became a of Miss Emily Kennedy, of Charlotte member of the Boston Society in 1845. Street, Portland Place, W., aged sixty. Her seven children are all members of the New Church, and she has had thirty-six grandchildren and ten great. grandchildren. Earnestly devoted to the truths of the Church, and constantly endeavouring to fill her life with its good, amid the trials and tribulations of this life, she builded the home in the heavens, where unbroken peace awaits her. From the "Messenger." This estimable lady was a daughter of the late Captain Kennedy, R. N. She was born at Dublin, but resided abroad until 1865, when she came to London. In 1867 she joined the Argyle Square Society, and regularly attended the services and meetings there until prevented by the illness which caused her death. Miss Kennedy first received the doc trines of the New Jerusalem from the her only hope. Her remains were in some lips of the late Baronne Thiébault while residing at Boulogne. She read "Heaven and Hell" through (in French) at the age of fourteen, and the revelations in that work were easily and eagerly accepted by her. Afterwards she made herself conversant with the rest of Swedenborg's theological writings, which were her constant companions up to the close of her life on earth. She also eagerly perused New Church literature as it issued from the press. The doctrine of the Supreme Divinity of the Lord Jesus, the reality of the spiritual world, the celestial and spiritual senses of the Word, the science of correspondences-viewed as explaining the Scriptures, and illustrating life in its various planes of manifestation, were themes upon which her heart meditated daily. Possessing a vivid imagination, an intensely affectionate disposition, and a highly cultivated and powerful mind, she grasped with unusual quickness of the grandest truths which Swedenborg revealed. This rapidity of perception, combined with a certain brevity of expression, was remarkable in her conversation. From a child she loved and venerated the Holy Word; and being a daily student of its sacred pages, she was well acquainted with its letter as well as its spirit. She made the Saviour's Sermon on the Mount the rule of her life, and in her last hours declared that by a simple obedience to that rule she found trouble disappear, and the way of life became easy. Her habits were simple; her life was the consummation of the truths she received. She loved to do good noiselessly; many have received benefits from her unawares. The progress of the New Church especially interested her, and she joined heartily in all movements to that end. She was the means of bringing the doctrines to the knowledge and acceptance first of her father, and subsequently of the rest of her family. Miss Kennedy was acquainted with the French, German, Italian, and Spanish languages, and was besides an artist and an accomplished musician. For some months previous to her decease her health visibly declined; but she struggled against her weakness, wishing to live on here. She, however, had a faith which made the Lord's will into terred at Kensal Green Cemetery, the Rev. Dr. Bayley officiating. She now realizes to the full the joys and glories of that heavenly home to which her thoughts were always directed. Departed into the spiritual world, February 11th, 1878, Agnes Adamson Tannahill, of Causeyside Street, Paisley, aged thirty-two. Mr. William Salsbury, of Shaw House, Melbourne, departed this life for his eternal home on the 4th of April. Apparently healthy and robust, there was every promise of a long life; but an internal disease, slow for a time, and finally with great rapidity and inexpressible pain, terminated his earthly career. The same fortitude which buoyed him during the vicissitudes of life strengthened him in the hour of death. Calmly and peacefully his soul passed from earth to heaven. He was born at Bloomsgrove, Radford, near Nottingham, on August 18th, 1832. From early life he was instructed by his father and at the Sunday-school in the doctrines of the New Church, and for very many years past he has been a great supporter, and for fifteen years the secretary, of the New Church Society in Melbourne. The institutions in connection with our Association have lost a liberal friend, for he was ever ready to help, but always in a quiet unostentatious manner. It may be truly said of him, he let not his left hand know what his right hand did. We have yet to learn how great a helper we have lost. His business having frequently taken him from home, he made a practice of visiting the various New Church Societies. He heartily loved the doctrines of the New Church, and spent much of his leisure in reading. In the Sundayschool he has been a constant and much-loved teacher; always taking a great interest in the younger classes. He loved to answer the questions of little children, and to be in their company. He rendered considerable service to his fellow-townsfolk, for being elected to various offices in the parish, he had become a useful member in society. We have lost a dear friend, the angels have gained a loving brother. THE LORD'S INCARNATION AND REDEMPTION CO-EXTENSIVE WITH CREATION. In an eloquent discourse on the illimitable vastness of the universe, delivered by Canon Farrar in Westminster Abbey a few Sundays ago, he gave utterance to the prevalent belief that "in this world, and for this world, God was made man." He does not deny, but on the contrary admits as probable, a plurality of worlds: "To us is known that the Galaxy is but the fixed light of innumerable stars, that the nebula of the Centaur and the clouds of Magellan are composed of star-clusters so infinitely distant, that though separated from us by abysses of the heaven, they seem by myriads to touch each other, so that our whole solar system would be but a speck in the infinite expanse ; and that our firmament is but one of some five thousand firmaments, and that each one of these so-called stars is a flaming sun, perhaps with its attendant planets, of which the nearest of all—the star Sirius -is supposed to be fifteen times larger than our own sun, and is rushing away from the earth at the rate of twenty miles a second, and yet separated from us by a space so inconceivably immeasurable that it is as bright as it was two thousand years ago." The nothingness of our planet compared with the known immensity of creation can hardly fail to give rise to the reflection why in this world, and for this world alone, so great an event should have taken place as the manifestation of God in the flesh-an event which even the sister planets of our own solar system are supposed to know nothing of and profit nothing by. The knowledge we possess on this very interesting and important subject, and which has been given to meet the very conditions which now make it so necessary, may be turned to account when the minds of the people are directed to it, though but by an incidental remark. We propose, therefore, to treat of this subject. Our object in this article is to show the harmony of the Scripture doctrine of redemption with the doctrine of a plurality of worlds. We need not waste time in attempting to prove that there are more planetary systems and more worlds than one. We assume a common assent to the doctrine of modern astronomy that every star is a sun, and to the conclusion which reason and analogy almost irresistibly force upon us, that every sun is the centre of a planetary system. We further assume that every other planet either is, or is destined to be, the habitation of human beings, on the same ground that the Scriptures account for the peopling of this: "Thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited" (Isa. xlv. 18). Those who are satisfied of the soundness of these conclusions must regard them as only the first steps to still higher and more important results. God not only created the worlds to be inhabited, He created their inhabitants for a higher purpose than that of a brief temporary physical existence upon them. In the creation of the universe the Eternal had an eternal end in view. The final cause of creation was the existence of an angelic heaven. Man was created for immortality. The material universe was created for the purpose of preparing human beings for an endless life of happiness in an immaterial world. This was the one end of creation. And all worlds having been created for the same end, they must be all under the same moral government, and be provided with the same means of preparing their inhabitants for the mansions of heaven. On whatever world man may be placed, he must be designed to be a religious being, and must possess a Divine revelation, without which he would neither know God nor any of the truths which acquaint him with his destiny and his duties. Whatever particular form revelation may assume in any world, it must be substantially the same in all. The love of God and of the neighbour must be the great burden of all revealed religion. The essential unity of revelation is a necessary consequence of its origin as well as of its aim. The Word of God, which comes to man as a written revelation, is the very Word which as Divine Wisdom created the worlds, and formed man who is placed upon them. The Word which created the world is also the light of the world; the Word which created man as an inhabitant of the world is the same Word which recreates him and prepares him to become an inhabitant of heaven. God works out the same end by the same means in all worlds. If all the inhabitants of the material universe are equally designed to live in the same spiritual world, and to participate in the same eternal happiness, there can be no essential difference in the means by which the one great end is to be accomplished. There is one consideration, however, which may seem to break in upon the essential unity of revelation, and the general similarity of the Divine government, and of the means and conditions of human happiness. Unity or similarity might seem to be reasonable or possible if all could be regarded as being in the order in which they were created. But, in this world at least, man has fallen from his original state of innocence into a state of sinfulness, and in consequence has required a Saviour to provide for him in his altered condition. Hence the question, Did Redemption by the incarnation of God extend to other worlds, or was it confined to this? This, we freely admit, is a question which cannot be determined by the direct testimony of the Word of God. But although it is not directly revealed, it does not follow that revelation sheds no light upon it, nor are we to conclude that the silence of the Scriptures, even supposing them to be entirely silent on the subject, renders any inquiry into it improper or unprofitable, or leaves the matter wholly conjectural. The apparent silence of the Sacred Scriptures on the subject is sufficiently accounted for by the fact that they express themselves in conformity with the extent of the natural information possessed by those to whom they are immediately addressed. The Scriptures do not anticipate the discoveries of natural science, but they do not contradict them. Yet the Scriptures will never fall behind the march of human improvement. The Word of God is open to discovery as well as His works. Revelation, like creation, contains exhaustless stores of knowledge, capable of endlessly progressive development. And it is not unreasonable to believe that, as the natural is the basis of the spiritual, the progress of discovery of the truths of nature and of revelation will generally run parallel to each other. Although, therefore, we may not derive from the plain language of Scripture any direct assurance that the redemption effected by the |