Sunday, August 23, 2009

DP 92, 94 - The conjunction of the Lord with a person . . .

DP 92
Conjunction with the Lord and regeneration are one,
for to the extent someone is conjoined with the Lord,
to the same extent he is regenerate.

. . . a person ought to acknowledge
that he does good and thinks truth not of himself
but from the Lord;
and therefore that the good that he does
and the truth that he thinks
are not his.
To think in this way,
impelled by some love of the will,
because it is the truth,
occasions conjunction.
For a person then turns his face to the Lord,
and the Lord turns His face to the person.

DP 94
A conjunction of the Lord with a person
and a reciprocal one of the person with the Lord
is formed by loving the neighbor as oneself
and loving the Lord above all.

To love the neighbor as oneself
consists simply in not dealing dishonestly or unjustly with him,
not hating him or burning with vengeance against him,
not cursing or defaming him,
not committing adultery with his wife,
and not doing other like things to him.

To love the Lord above all
consists simply in not doing evil to the Word,
because the Lord is present in the Word;
in not doing evil to the sanctities of the church,
because the Lord is present in the sanctities of the church;
and in not doing evil to anyone's soul,
because everyone's soul is in the Lord's hand.

(Emphasis mine. What a loving and amazing image!)

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