XXV.
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS..
WE have all along invited the reader's attention to the practical hearing and value of Swedenborg's disclosures concerning heaven. And we have done this for two reasons: first, because no stronger evidence of their truth can be offered than their obvious usefulness when practically applied; and second, because upon no single point, perhaps, is Swedenborg more generally misunderstood than on this. The great practical value of his teachings and revealings cannot be too strongly emphasized. They all have relation to life, and come close home to us as husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, merchants, mechanics, members of society and citizens of the state. All truth must have relation to life; for what higher purpose can it have, or for what nobler end could it be given, than to teach us how to live that we maybe most useful and most happy?
We have seen that the great Swede's disclosures concerning sex and marriage in heaven, rest upon a solid foundation. Scripture and reason, the desires and hopes of the best men and women everywhere, and the constitutional requirements of both sexes, unite in attestation of their truth. We have seen, too, what is the nature of marriage as it exists in heaven; also what true conjugial love is, whence it originates, who only can receive it and on what conditions, and what paradisiacal delights flow from its reception. From a union of souls in heaven, spiritual offspring (which are heavenly thoughts and affections ever fresh and new) are continually being born to the wedded pair; and these exalt and strengthen their love, as natural offspring do on earth—but in a far higher degree.
We are taught to pray: "Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven." If marriages, then, really exist in heaven, their nature, when revealed, should teach us what marriages here on earth ought to be—yes, and what they will be when the Father's will shall be done here as it is done in heaven. What, then, is the practical lesson to be derived from Swedenborg's disclosures on this subject? What, in view of this new doctrine, will be the primary thought and chief aim of those contemplating marriage, or who have already entered upon it, if in their hearts they are really praying the prayer which the Lord taught his disciples?
Their first and controling thought will be of the Lord. As all true conjugial love is from Him, and He is the all-in-all of every true marriage, therefore their souls will first be lifted to Him in prayer. All who accept the heavenly doctrine on this subject, will see that there can be no real marriage except where there is a union of souls; and such, therefore, is the union they will desire and seek. They will see that their highest earthly bliss depends upon it. Any other union may, perchance, embitter their whole lives; or if not this, may deprive them of all the sweetness and delights of marriage. While there is, on the one hand, no heavier or more consuming grief than to be tied to an uncongenial and ill-adapted mate, there is, on the other, no purer earthly bliss than that experienced by consorts whose souls are wedded each to each. It is a bliss closely allied to that of heaven.
And not only are the happiness and spiritual growth of the parties themselves involved in this relation, but the character and happiness of their posterity, through successive generations. For children born of parents who are in love truly conjugial, inherit from them, to a degree above others, an inclination to the things of heavenly life—the truths of wisdom and the goods of love.
"Offspring," says Swedenborg, "born of two who are in love truly conjugial, draw from their parents the conjugial of good and truth;" that is, "they inherit, more than others, an aptness and facility for conjoining good to truth and truth to good, thus for becoming wise; consequently also for imbibing the things of the church and heaven.
"I have heard from the angels that those who lived in the most ancient times, live at this day in heaven. . . in like manner as they had lived on earth, because love truly conjugial was with them; and that their offspring inherited from them inclinations to the conjugial of good and truth, and that they were easily initiated into it more and more internally by the parents by education, and when they became of more mature judgment, were introduced into it as of themselves by the Lord."—C. L. 202, '4, '5.We thus see what solemn and weighty considerations exist, to induce all who are contemplating marriage, to seek a truly conjugial union. And how can they expect to form such a relation, without looking devoutly for guidance to Him who is the light of all minds, and the source of all true marriages on earth as well as in heaven. There is no single act in life wherein the guidance of Divine wisdom is so much needed, as in that of marriage.
As soon, therefore, as a man begins to think seriously of entering into this sacred relation—involving, as it does, not only his own best welfare, but the character and well-being of his posterity—he should enter into his closet, the secret closet of his heart, and pray to the Father that seeth in secret, for the wisdom and guidance which he so much needs. And if he sincerely desires to be led of the Lord in a matter so momentous, and looks to Him with humble and supplicating heart, he cannot fail to be led in the right way.
This is the case with those who have died in infancy or childhood, and been educated in heaven. They have never contracted any evil habits, and have learned and practiced the true worship. It is the indwelling of the Lord in their hearts which gives such perception. But it is otherwise on earth, mainly because children are not here nurtured, nor surrounded by such sweet religious atmospheres, as they are in heaven. They are not early taught to deny self, and to shun all known evils as sins. And sin always clouds the mind's clear vision. Forgetting or turning our backs on the Lord, as we do when we disobey his precepts, is what shuts out the light of heaven from the soul. And this light gone, we walk in darkness. And "he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither he goeth."
From the heavenly view of marriage that we have presented, it is further seen that, if one desires or hopes to form a true conjugial union, he must worship the Lord in his daily life; he must cultivate a reverence for the written Word, and shun as a sin all known evil. There can be no true worship without this; for it is not with words only that the Lord is truly worshiped. Words alone do not open the heart to the reception of the Divine life. It is works of filial obedience. It is devout and sincere reverence for the truth, and a resolute purpose to apply it to life. "He that doeth truth, cometh to the light."
Whoever, therefore, accepts the heavenly view of marriage as now revealed, will see the necessity of learning and doing the will of the Lord, if he expects to form a true conjugial union. He will see and feel the need of that wisdom which cometh from Above—the wisdom of a righteous and useful life. He will see that, without this wisdom he can never be really loved by a true woman; for a true woman can love only what there is of wisdom in a man. He will see the necessity, therefore, of becoming a form of heavenly wisdom before he can hope to be truly loved by a heavenly-minded woman. So soon as he begins to think of marrying, therefore, he will (if he accepts the heavenly doctrine on this subject) begin to think of learning wisdom from the Lord. He will begin, if he has not already, to regard and shun evils as sins against God. If he has any vicious habits—as of idleness, intemperance, licentiousness, profanity—he will straightway abandon them. If he has no useful occupation he will seek one. If he is false, dishonest, conceited, self-seeking, or worldly-minded, he will repent, humbly invoke the Divine aid, and earnestly set about the work of reformation. If he has scoffed at religion or trifled with holy Scripture, he will change his course and begin to cultivate a reverence for the Word and for all sacred things. For we are taught by this new revelation that the conjunction of a wife is with the rational, moral and spiritual wisdom of the husband.
Such is the practical lesson which this new doctrine teaches every man so soon as he begins seriously to think of entering the marriage relation. And it teaches a similar lesson to every marriageable woman. By proclaiming a union of souls, and the spiritual uses of marriage as well as the spiritual nature of love truly conjugial, it teaches every woman who desires a true marriage, the necessity of elevating her thoughts and affections to things spiritual and divine, and of looking for some measure, at least, of heavenly wisdom in the man whom she is to call her husband. It teaches her that the supreme delights of marriage can never be known except to the spiritually minded and regenerate; and that if she loves a man who is destitute of heavenly wisdom, it is with a natural, selfish or worldly love which can endure only so long as the natural and worldly feelings are gratified. Wives in heaven, we are told, love only what is of wisdom in their husbands; and all true wisdom is from the Lord.
Every woman, therefore, who fully accepts this new and heavenly doctrine, will, before she gives her consent to marry, demand that her suitor shall give evidence not merely of some degree of worldly wisdom, but of that wisdom especially which cometh from Above; that he be a man of religious principle—a man whose ruling purpose it is to know and do the will of the Lord, who heeds the voice of duty sooner than the promptings of self-interest, and is ever ready to make personal sacrifice in defense of the right and the true. To such a man, a woman may safely give her hand and heart. But there is no security—almost no hope—for her future peace and welfare, if she consents to marry one who is devoid of religious principle. Nothing—no amount of worldly wealth, no rank, station, or connections however high and honorable, can compensate for the lack of this. And this every woman will plainly see, who understands and fully receives this heavenly doctrine of marriage.
Such is the practical lesson which this new doctrine teaches to young men and maidens—to all, indeed, who are contemplating wedded life.
And not less important is the instruction which the doctrine contains for those who have already entered the matrimonial state. It teaches both husbands and wives that they cannot know what true conjugial love is, nor have experience of its pure delights, save in the degree that their souls become conjoined to the Lord by a life of use, and of religious obedience to the Divine precepts. The angels say that the marriage state becomes more blissful and perfect as the husband is perfected in wisdom, and the wife loves that wisdom in the husband; and that this is done by means of uses, and according to the uses which each of them by mutual aid affords in society."—C. L. n. 137.
"No others come into conjugial love, or can be in it, but those who come to the Lord, and love the truths of the church and do its goods; because . . this love, considered as to its origin and correspondence, is heavenly, spiritual, holy, pure and clean above every love that is with the angels of heaven and the men of the church; and these its attributes cannot be given but to those who are conjoined to the Lord, and by Him consociated with the angels of heaven.
"That they come into this love, and can be in it, who love the truths of the church and do its goods, is because no others are accepted of the Lord; for these are in conjunction with them, and thence can be held in that love of Himself. . . . The truth of faith causes the Lord's presence, and the good of life according to truths of faith causes conjunction with Him, and thereby heaven and the church.'—C. L. n. 70, '1, '2.Thus the new doctrine teaches to married pairs the importance of beginning their wedded life with the Lord. It teaches the necessity of looking to Him and becoming internally conjoined to Him through a life of obedience to his precepts, before they can come into a state of genuine love towards, or of spiritual union with, each other. The reason is, that true Conjugial love is from the Lord; and only those, therefore, can be in it and experience its delights, who are in Him and He in them. It is well known that husbands and wives feel the warmest love for each other when in the most faithful performance of all their duties; and it is the faithful discharge of our duties, which brings us into spiritual conjunction with the Lord. The voice of duty is the voice of God; and as often as we reverently heed that voice, we are clasped more closely in the Divine embrace. Apart from God and duty, there is not, and never can be, such a thing as true conjugial love on earth or in heaven.
It is evident enough, therefore, that this love is spiritual in its nature, and that only those come into it and experience its delights, who come to the Lord and learn and do the truths of his Word. And it is no less evident—from human experience as well as from the new revealings—that the more faithfully consorts perform all their duties, the more the husband increases in wisdom and the wife in the love of that wisdom, the more closely wedded will their souls become, and the more fully will they experience the delights of conjugial love. From which we may reasonably conclude that marriages must exist in heaven, and become ever more and more delightful as the souls of angelic consorts become more closely wedded to the Lord and to each other.—C. L. n. 216.
Such is the important practical lesson which the new doctrine concerning marriages in heaven inculcates. It teaches consorts on earth to begin their wedded life with the Lord. It reveals to them the necessity (if they would know the supreme delights of marriage), of living and acting continually from religious principle; the necessity of looking to the Lord and following after Him, of imbibing and cherishing a Christian spirit, and of performing all their duties with religious fidelity; in a word, of making the upbuilding of the kingdom of heaven in their hearts the ruling purpose of their lives. Having this for their grand and constant aim, they will indeed be helpmeets to each other in the highest and best sense; for they will be perpetually helping each other on their way to heaven. They will not strive to please by ministering to each other's natural proprium—pride, ambition, vanity, or love of self—for thus they would shut out from each other's hearts the Lord and heaven and all true love; but by kindness and gentleness, yet with perfect frankness one towards the other, by affectionate counsel, encouragement and reproof, by mutual aid in revealing and overcoming their evils, the soul of each will gradually become more closely conjoined to Him from whom all true love descends, and the golden chain that binds their hearts to each other, will grow continually brighter, stronger, and more golden.
Let married partners here on earth accept and adopt these heavenly views of marriage, let them be ever mindful of its spiritual design and uses, and never forget or turn away from Him who is the source of all love truly conjugial, and they will experience, in the internal wedding of their souls, a bliss which the world can neither give nor take away. And the pains, disappointments, bereavements, and manifold ills of life, instead of weakening their attachment, will serve to bind their hearts more closely together, and to augment instead of lessening the sweet comfort of love.
Why is it that the hearts of married partners often grow cold and colder towards each other as the years roll by? Why does married life with many, at first so sweet and joyous, after a while prove to be so dull, insipid, almost wearisome? The reason is obvious. They do not understand or do not accept the heavenly doctrine concerning marriage, nor do they know the heavenly nature of conjugial love. They have not entered into the relation from any exalted motive, or with any spiritual view of it, nor sought to fulfill its obligations from any religious principle. Having never looked to the one true Source for the joys they anticipated, having lost or strayed away from the path of duty, and excluded God and heaven and the things of religion from their affections and thoughts, no wonder their hearts have grown cold, and marriage worthless, and life itself wearisome. No wonder they have not found in this sacred relation the heaven they expected; for they looked in the wrong direction for it—to the things which are from beneath, and not to those which come from above. They expected a heaven where the Lord, religion and duty were unheeded or unknown; no wonder, therefore, that they were disappointed.
"Hence it follows that where religion is not, conjugial love is not possible; and where this is not, there is conjugial cold which is the privation of that love, consequently a privation of the state of the church, or of religion.
"The first of the internal causes of colds, is the rejection of religion by both parties. With those who throw back [or reject] . . the sacred things of the church, no good love is possible. If there is any apparent one from the body, still there is none in the spirit. With such persons goods locate themselves on the outside of evils, and cover them over as cloth shining with gold covers a rotten body. The evils which reside within and are covered over, are in general hatreds, and thence intestine combats against everything spiritual; for all things of the church which they reject, are in themselves spiritual. And because love truly conjugial is the fundamental of all spiritual loves, it is manifest that there is intrinsic hatred of that."—C. L. n. 238, '39, '40.It cannot be denied, therefore, that the legitimate tendency of this new doctrine of marriage, is most wholesome and benign. And this is the strongest possible evidence of its truth. Where in all the literature of Christendom can we find any teaching on the subject of marriage, so exalted and reasonable in itself, so refining and potent in its moral influence, so purifying and elevating in its practical tendency, as that contained in Swedenborg's treatise on Conjugial Love? Yet this is the book which, more than any other from the pen of the same illumined author, has been misrepresented, maligned, ridiculed, condemned and spit upon by the professed followers of Jesus Christ, and even by men claiming to be his ministers! Our sorrowful feeling for all such, finds its truest expression in those divine words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Let this new doctrine concerning marriage be generally accepted and made a doctrine of life, and what a change would shortly come over the face of human society! What different fathers and mothers should we have! What different sons and daughters! What a different atmosphere in all our homes! What a change would ere-long be wrought in the whole social, moral and religious aspect of Christendom! Married life would everywhere cease to be dull or insipid, and would be regarded as the very image of heaven on earth, as indeed it would be. And millions of hearts would feelingly and joyfully respond to the sentiment of the poet,
"There's a bliss beyond all that the minstrel has told,
- When two that are linked in one heavenly tie,
With heart never changing and brow never cold,
- Love on through all ills, and love on till they die.
One hour of a passion so sacred, is worth
- Whole ages of heartless and wandering bliss;
And, oh! if there be an Elysium on earth,
- It is this—it is this!"