AC 8702 - Good Is of Truth and Truth Is of Good; AC 8717 - Influx and the Care of the Lord

AC 8702

. . . good is of truth and truth is of good,
and thus these two are one;
for what good wills,
this truth confirms;
and what truth perceives as truth,
this good wills,
and both together do.
The case is similar with good and truth
as with the will and the understanding;
what the will wills and loves,
this the understanding thinks and confirms,
and vice versa.
That these two are alike is because good is of the will,
and truth is of the understanding.
In such a state are they
who are led of the Lord by means of good.

AC 8717

. . . influx does not take place from exteriors to interiors;
but from interiors to exteriors.
. . . Be it known that in the internal sense
things are set forth such as they are in themselves;
not such as they appear in the sense of the letter.

In itself the fact is
that by means of the truth proceeding from Himself
the Lord directs all things down to the veriest singulars;
not as a king in the world,
but as God in heaven and in the universe.
A king in the world exercises only a care over the whole,
and his princes and officers a particular care.
It is otherwise with God, for God sees all things,
and knows all things from eternity,
and provides all things to eternity,
and from Himself holds all things in their order.
From this it is evident
that the Lord has not only a care over the whole,
but also a particular and individual care of all things,
otherwise than as a king in the world.
His disposing is immediate
through the truth Divine from Himself,
and is also mediate through heaven.
But the mediate disposing through heaven
is also as it were immediate from Himself,
for what comes out of heaven
comes through heaven from Him.
That this is so the angels in heaven not only know,
but also perceive in themselves.

But this subject falls with difficulty
into the idea of any man,
and least of all into the idea of those
who trust in their own prudence;
for they attribute to themselves
all things that happen prosperously for them,
and the rest they ascribe to fortune, or chance;
and few to the Divine Providence.
Thus they attribute the things that happen
to dead causes, and not to the living cause.
When things turn out happily
they indeed say that it is of God,
and even that there is nothing that is not from Him;
but few, and scarcely any,
at heart believe it.
In like manner do those who place all prosperity
in worldly and bodily things,
namely, in honors and riches,
and believe that these alone are Divine blessings;
and therefore when they see
many of the evil abound in such things,
and not so much the good,
they reject from their heart
and deny the Divine Providence in individual things,
not considering that
Divine Blessing is to be happy to eternity,
and that the Lord regards such things
as are of brief duration, as relatively,
are the things of this world,
no otherwise than as means to eternal things.
Wherefore also the Lord provides for the good,
who receive His mercy in time,
such things as contribute
to the happiness of their eternal life;
riches and honors for those
to whom they are not hurtful;
and no riches and honors for those
to whom they would be hurtful.
Nevertheless to these latter He gives in time,
in the place of honors and riches,
to be glad with a few things,
and to be more content than the rich and honored.