CL 486 - All Evils Viewed in Themselves

CL 486

All evils . . . are, viewed in themselves,
products of the inward and outward self.
The inward self intends them
and the outward self commits them.
Consequently, whatever the character is of the inward self
in the deeds which it commits
through the agency of the outward self,
such is the character of the deeds regarded in themselves.
Nevertheless, because the inward self and its intention
are not visible to men,
everyone has to be judged publicly
on the basis of his actions and words
in accordance with the enacted law and its strictures.
The inner sense of the law
ought to be regarded by the judge as well.

~ Worthless Idols ~

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob,
all you clans of the house of Israel.

This is what the Lord says:

"What fault did your fathers find in Me,
that they strayed so from from Me?
They  followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves."

"They say to wood, 'You are my father,'
and to stone, 'You gave me birth.'
They have turned their backs to Me
and not their faces;
yet when they are in trouble, they say,
'Come and save us!'
Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come
if they can save you
when you are in trouble!
For you have as many gods
 as you have towns, O Judah."

(Jeremiah 2:4-5, 27-28)

 

CL 482 - The Uniting of Souls

CL 482

It is clearly apparent that the souls of the two unite
when love for the opposite sex
is confined to one of the sex --
as happens when a young woman
has pledged herself wholly to a young man
and the young man conversely has pledged himself
wholly to the young woman --
from the fact their two lives unite,
consequently their souls,
because these are their life in its beginnings.
This union of souls is possible only
in monogamous marriages
or marriages of one man with one wife;
but not in polygamous marriages
or marriages of one man with more than one wife;
because in the latter love is divided,
in the former united.
 
Marriage love in this, its highest seat,
is spiritual, holy and pure,
because the soul of every person
from its origin is celestial;
consequently it receives influx from the Lord directly;
for it receives from Him
a marriage of love and wisdom or good and truth,
and this influx makes the person a human being
and sets him apart from animals.

~ The Call of Jeremiah ~

The word of the Lord came to me saying,

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appoint you as a prophet to the nations."

"Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said,
"I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
But the Lord said to me,
"Do not say, 'I am only a child.'
You must go to everyone I send you to
and say whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you and will rescue you,"
declares the Lord.
Then the Lord reached out His hand
and touched my mouth and said to me,
"Now, I have put My words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and overthrow,
to build and to plant."

(Jeremiah 1:4-10)

 

CL 477 - Inner Minds and Outer Minds

CL 477 [3]

Every person has an inner mind and an outer mind,
thus an internal sight and an external sight.
In evil people the inner mind is insane
and the outer one wise,
while in good people the inner mind is wise
and in consequence of it the outer one too;
and the character of the mind determines
how a person in the spiritual world sees objects.

~ Heaven Is My Throne ~

This is what the Lord says:

"Heaven is My throne,
and the earth is My footstool.
Where is the house you will build for Me?
Where will My resting place be?
Has not My hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?" declares the Lord.

"This is the one I esteem:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
and trembles at My word."

(Isaiah 66:1-2)

 

CL 461 - Delight

CL 461 [6]

"It is true that anyone who knows what delight is
also knows what heaven and hell are
and what they are like.
The will, which makes a person the person he is,
is not moved even the least bit except by delight;
for the will, regarded in itself,
is nothing but the action and effect of some love,
thus of delight,
inasmuch as it is some element
of fancy, liking and pleasure which causes one to will.
Moreover, because it is the will
that impels the intellect to think,
there is not the least idea existing in the thought
which does not flow in from a delight of the will.

"This is as it is
because the Lord activates all the elements of the soul
and all the elements of the mind
in angels, spirits and men
through an influx from Him,
and this through an influx of love and wisdom;
and this influx is the underlying activity
from which springs every delight,
which in its origin is called bliss, happiness and felicity,
and in its descent delight, gratification and pleasure,
and in its universal sensation, good."

~ Since Ancient Times ~

Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides You,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember Your ways.

(Isaiah 64:4)

 

CL 453 - Ends

CL 453 [2]

. . . an end for good is the end of all in heaven,
and an end for evil the end of all in hell.

~ My Soul Rejoices in My God ~

I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord
will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.

(Isaiah 61:10-11)

 

CL 448 - The Use in Being Born Flesh-Oriented

CL 448

Every person is born flesh-oriented,
becomes sensual, then natural, and gradually rational;
and if he does not stop there,
he becomes spiritual. 
He develops in this way
in order that planes of existence may be formed
for higher planes to rest on,
like a palace on its foundations.
The lowest plane with the things built on it
may also be likened to a piece of ground,
in which, having been prepared,
noble seeds are planted. 

~ I Will Bring You ~

"Although you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one traveling through,
I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy
of all generations.
You will drink the milk of nations
and be nursed at royal breasts.
Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior,
your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,
and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace your governor
and righteousness your ruler.
No longer will violence be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Your sun will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow will end.
Then will all your people be righteous
and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,
the work of My hands,
for the display of My splendor.
The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the Lord;
in its time I will do this swiftly."

(Isaiah 60:15-22)

CL 432 - Married Love Makes a Person More Human; CL 443 - Contrasting Houses

CL 432

(1) That a person who is in a state of truly conjugial love
becomes more and more spiritual,
and the more spiritual anyone is,
the more human he is.

(2) That he becomes more and more wise,
and the wiser anyone is,
the more human he is.

(3) That in him the interior faculties of the mind
are opened more and more, to the point
that he sees or intuitively acknowledges the Lord,
and the more anyone possesses
that sight or acknowledgment,
the more human he is.

(4) That he becomes
more and more moral and law-abiding,
because his morality and citizenship
contain a spiritual soul,
and the more morally law-abiding anyone is,
the more human he is.

(5) That after death he also becomes an angel of heaven,
and an angel in essence and form is human;
and moreover a genuine humanity radiates
from his face, speech and habits;
from which it follows as well that conjugial love
makes a person more and more human.

CL 443

The nature of the delights
of licentious love and of those of conjugial love
can be made clearer by comparing them to houses.
The delights of licentious love
may be compared to a house whose walls on the outside
glow with a reddish hue like shellfish,
or with a false hue of gold
like specular stones called selenites,
while the rooms inside within the walls
contain piles of dirt and trash of every kind.
In contrast, the delights of conjugial love
may be likened to a house whose walls glisten
as though of pure gold,
and whose rooms within are sparkling,
as though filled with treasure-troves
of many precious things.

~ My Salvation Is Close at Hand ~

"Maintain justice and do what is right,
for My salvation is close at hand
and My righteousness will soon be revealed.
Blessed is the man who does this,
the man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and keeps his hand from doing evil."

(Isaiah 56:1-2)

 

CL 426 - The Natural Self and Spiritual Self; CL 431 - The Lord's Kingdoms on Earth and in Heaven

CL 426

The natural self is the character into which
everyone is first led as he matures,
which is accomplished through
various kinds of knowledge and concepts,
and by rational matters having to do with the intellect.
But the spiritual self is the character into which
he led by a love of being useful,
a love which is also called charity.
Accordingly, in the measure
that anyone is in a state of charity,
in the same measure he is spiritual;
but in the measure that he is not in that state,
in the same measure he is natural,
even if he should be discerning
in acumen and wise in his judgment.

CL 431

. . . the church is the Lord's kingdom on earth,
corresponding to His kingdom in heaven;
and the Lord also joins the two together
so that they are united.
Moreover, the Lord distinguishes
between the people who are in it,
as He does between heaven and hell,
setting them apart in accordance with their loves.
People who are caught up
in the shameless and obscene delights of licentious love
draw to themselves spirits of a like character from hell,
while people who abide
in the modest and chaste delights of conjugial love
are affiliated by the Lord
with angels of a like character from heaven.

~ The Future Glory of Zion ~

"Do not be afraid;
you will not suffer shame.
Do not fear disgrace;
you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more
the reproach of your widowhood.
For your Maker is your husband --
the Lord Almighty is His name --
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
He is called the God of all the earth.

Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor My covenant of peace be removed,"
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

"O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stones of turquoise,
your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels.
and all your walls of precious stones.
All your sons will be taught by the Lord,
and great will be your children's peace.

(Isaiah 54:4-5, 10-13)

CL 416, 421 - Looking At Nature

CL 416 [1, 3], 421

People who believe that the Divine
operates in every single thing of nature,
can, from the many things which they see in nature,
confirm themselves on the side of the Divine,
just as well as and even more than those
who confirm themselves on the side of nature.
For people who confirm themselves
on the side of the Divine
pay heed to the marvels which they see
in the propagations of both plants and animals.

Any person having an elevated rational faculty,
on seeing and considering these wonders,
cannot but think that they issue from one
who possesses infinite wisdom,
thus from God.

People who attribute all things to nature
see these wonders, indeed,
but they think only that they exist,
and say that nature produces them.
They say this because
they have turned their mind away
from thinking about the Divine;
and when people who have turned away
from thinking about the Divine
see wonders in nature,
they are unable to think rationally,
 still less spiritually,
but think instead in sensual and material terms.
They then think within the confines of nature
from the standpoint of nature and not above it,
in the way that those do who are in hell.
They differ from animals
only in their having the power of rationality, that is,
 in their being able to understand
and so think otherwise if they will.

Let everyone guard himself, therefore,
from confirmations on the side of nature.
Let him confirm himself on the side of the Divine.
There is no lack of material for it.

~ Listen and Hear ~

"Listen to Me, My people; hear Me, My nation:
The law will go out from Me;
My justice will become a light to the nations.
My righteousness draws near speedily,
My salvation is on the way  . . ..

"Hear Me, you who know what is right,
you people who have My law in your hearts:
Do not fear the reproach of men
or be terrified by their insults.
For the moth will devour them like wool.
But My righteousness will last forever,
My salvation through all generations.

. . . "For I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves roar --
the Lord Almighty is His name.
I have put My words in your mouth
and covered you with the shadow of My hand --
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,
and who say to Zion,
'You are my people.'"

(Isaiah 51:4-5, 7-8, 15-16)

CL 413 - Little Children Becoming Angels

CL 413

Many people may suppose
that little children remain little children
and become angels immediately after death.
But it is intelligence and wisdom that make an angel.
Consequently, as long as little children do not have
that intelligence and wisdom,
they are indeed among angels,
but are not themselves angels.
They become angels for the first time
only when they have become intelligent and wise.

Little children are therefore led
from the innocence of early childhood
to the innocence of wisdom; that is,
from an external innocence to an internal one.
This latter innocence is the goal
in all their instruction and advancement.
Consequently,
when they reach the innocence of wisdom,
attached to it is the innocence of their early childhood,
which in the meantime
had served them as a foundation.

 

~ Shout for Joy ~

Shout for joy, O heavens;
rejoice, O earth;
burst into song, O mountains!
For the Lord comforts His people
and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.

(Isaiah 49:21)

 

CL 394 - The Innermost Elements of Heaven; CL 400 - Activities

CL 394

Innocence and peace
are the two innermost elements of heaven.
We call them innermost,
because they emanate directly from the Lord.
For the Lord is the essence of innocence
and the essence of peace.
Because of His innocence the Lord is called a Lamb*,
and because of His peace He says,
"Peace I leave with you,
My peace I give to you."
(John 14:27)

 * as in John 1:29,36; also many places in Revelation

 

~ He Teaches and Directs ~

This is what the Lord says --
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
"I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to my commands,
your peace would have been like a river,
your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
Your descendants would have been like the sand,
your children like its numberless grains;
their name would never be cut off
nor destroyed from before Me."

(Isaiah 48:17-19)

CL 383 - Genuine Morality

CL 383

By wisdom I mean genuine morality,
because this is wisdom in life.

~ Do You Give Me Orders? ~

"This is what the Lord says --
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Concerning things to come,
do you question Me about My children,
or give Me orders about the work of My hands?
It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;
I marshaled their starry hosts.

(Isaiah 45:11-12)

CL 380 - Seeing From an Elevated Human Mind

CL 380 [6]

"Do you not know
that the human mind is capable of being elevated
above sensual appearances,
which are appearances
in the thoughts from the bodily senses,
and that when it is elevated,
it sees such things as have to do with life above,
and such things as have to do with nature below?

"Raise the sight of your genius yet a little higher,
and you will see
that to be affected and think are properties of life;
and that the capacity to be affected derives from love,
and to think, from wisdom,
and both of these from life --
for, as we said, love and wisdom are life.

"If you raise the faculty of your understanding
a little higher still,
you will see that no love or wisdom is possible
unless somewhere it has an origin,
and that its origin is love itself and wisdom itself,
thus life itself;
and these are God,
from whom comes nature."

 

~ I Am the Lord ~

Before Me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after Me.
I, even I, am the Lord,
and apart from Me there is no Savior.
I have revealed and saved and proclaimed --
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are My witnesses," declares the Lord,
'that I am God.
Yes, and from ancient days I am He.
No one can deliver out of My hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?"

(Isaiah 43:10.5-13)

 

CL 368 - Married Spiritual People

CL 368 [2]

. . . spiritual people, in their marriage
. . . look to union as their goal,
and in that union
to spiritual tranquillity and its gratifications.

 

~ Do Not Fear ~

"I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, 'You are My servant';
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
So do not fear,
for I am with you;
do not be dismayed,
for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

(Isaiah 41:9-10)

 

CL 341, 345, 347 - Becoming Spiritual

CL 341 [2]

The Lord's presence in a person is one thing,
and conjunction with Him another.
Going to Him occasions His presence;
and living according to His commandments
brings conjunction.

CL 345 [2]

Every evil into which a person is born from his parents
is implanted in his natural self,
but not any of it in his spiritual self,
because he is born into this from the Lord.

CL 347

To become spiritual
is to be elevated out of the natural plane,
that is, out of the light and warmth of the world
into the light and warmth of heaven.

 

~ Who Is My Equal? ~

"To whom will you compare Me?
Or who is My equal?" says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
because of His great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.

(Isaiah 40:25-26)

 

CL 334 - Love and Friendship and Trust

CL 334

Since truly conjugial love joins
the souls and hearts of two together,
it is coupled therefore also with friendship
and through this with trust,
and causes them both to be of a conjugial nature.
Such friendship and trust so rise
above other types of friendship and trust that,
as that love is the greatest of loves,
so that friendship is the greatest of friendships,
and likewise that trust.

~ Hezekiah Prays ~

But what can I say?
He has spoken to me,
and He Himself has done this.
I will walk humbly all my years
because of this anguish of my soul.
Lord, but such things men live;
and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health and let me live.
Surely it was for my benefit
that I suffered such anguish.
In Your love
You kept me from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins behind Your back.
for the grave cannot praise you,
death cannot sing Your praise;
those who go down to the pit
cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
The living, the living -- they praise you,
as I am doing today;
fathers tell their children about Your faithfulness.

The Lord will save me
and we will sing with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives in the temple of the Lord.

(Isaiah 38:15-20)

CL 327 - Visibility; CL 329 - Divisibility

CL 327

. . . a natural person is not visible to a spiritual one,
nor a spiritual person to a natural one --
even though they are affiliated
in respect to their affections and thoughts
and so in respect to their presence.

CL 329 [2]

". . . every particle of your thought
and every drop of your affection
is divisible to infinity,
and according as your ideas are divisible,
so are you wise.

"Be advised that everything divided
becomes more and more multiple,
and not more and more simple,
because as something is divided again and again
it approaches nearer and nearer to the Infinite
in which are all things infinitely.
This is something new I am telling you,
which you have not heard before."

~ God Will Come ~

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.

Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
He will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution He will come to save you."

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

(Isaiah 35)

CL 325 - Good Without Truth

CL 325 [2]

. . . good cannot provide or manage anything
accept by means of truth;
that good cannot protect itself either
except by means of truth,
accordingly that truth is the protection
and so to speak the good right arm of good;
and that good without truth is without counsel,
because it has its counsel,
wisdom and judgment by means of truth.

 

~ O Lord, Be Gracious to Us ~

O Lord, be gracious to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress.

the Lord is exalted,
for He dwells on high;
He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

(Isaiah 33:2,5-6)

CL 316 - Right and Left

CL 316 [5]

. . . 'the right eye' means the good connected with sight,
and 'the left eye' the truth connected with it.
So, too, 'the right ear'
means the good connected with hearing,
and 'the left ear' the truth connected with it.
Similarly, 'the right hand'
means the good connected with a person's strength,
and 'the left hand' the truth connected with it.
And so on with the rest of these twinned pairs.
"Moreover, because 'right' and 'left'
have these symbolic associations, the Lord said:

If your right eye causes you to slip, pluck it out....
And if your right hand causes you to slip, cut it off....
(Matthew 5:29,30)

He meant by this
that if something good is turned to evil,
it should be cast away.

For the same reason
He also told His disciples to cast their net
on the right side of the boat,
and when they did so,
they caught a great number of fish.
(John 21:6)

And by this He meant
they should teach the good of charity,
and by doing so would gather in people.

~ The Lord Almighty Will Shield ~

This is what the Lord says to me:

"As a lion growls, a great lion over his prey --
and though a whole band of shepherds
is called together against him,
he is not frightened by their shouts
or disturbed by their clamor --
so the Lord Almighty will come down
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
Like birds hovering overhead,
the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;
He will shield it and deliver it,
He will 'pass over' it and will rescue it.

Return to Him
you have so greatly revolted against, O Israelites.
For in that day every one of you
will reject the idols of silver and gold
your sinful hands have made.

(Isaiah 31:4-6)

 

CL 310 - Marriage, Mind and Body

CL 310

It follows as a conclusion from this
that the mind continually flows into the body
and directs the body toward
activities in harmony with it and its development.
Accordingly, viewed in themselves,
human bodies are simply replicas of minds
outwardly organized to carry out the bidding of the soul.

. . .  a marriage of the spirit after the wedding
becomes also one of the body, thus complete.
Consequently, that if the marriage is chaste in spirit
and draws its quality from its sanctity in the spirit,
it is of the same character
when it comes into its complete expression in the body;
and of the opposite character
if the marriage in spirit is unchaste.

~ Repentance and Rest ~

This is what the Sovereign Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, says:

"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.'"

. . . Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
He rises to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!

(Isaiah 30:15-16, 18)

 

CL 302 - Married Love Ascends and Descends

CL 302 [1-2]

To those considerations we should add also the following,
that by the order engraved on it
truly married love ascends and descends.
It ascends from its first warmth progressively upward
towards people's souls
in an effort to form conjunctions there,
and this by continually
more interior openings of their minds.
There is, moreover,
no love which strives for these openings more intensely,
or which opens the interior recesses of minds
more forcefully and adeptly,
than conjugial (married) love;
for it is the soul in each which impels it.
On the other hand,
in the very same moments that this love
ascends toward the soul,
it also descends toward the body and invests itself in it.

People should know, however,
that conjugial love is of the same character in its descent
as it is in the height to which it ascends.
If it soars aloft, it descends chaste;
but if it does not soar aloft, it descends unchaste.
That is because
the lower elements of the mind are unchaste,
while its higher elements are chaste;
for the lower elements of the mind cling to the body,
whereas the higher elements
divorce themselves from such things.

~ Once More ~

Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord;
the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
The ruthless will vanish,
the mockers will disappear,
and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down --
those who with a word make a man out to be guilty,
who ensnare the defender in court
and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice.

(Isaiah 29:19-21)

 

CL 294 - Love and Freedom

CL 294

. . . love cannot be compelled,
but is subtly infused in a state of freedom.

 

~ Yes, Lord ~

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your laws,
we wait for You;
Your name and renown
are the desire of our hearts.

(Isaiah 26:8)

CL 293 - Spiritual Wisdom

CL 293 [4]

Spiritual wisdom is to acknowledge the Lord our Savior
as God of heaven and earth,
and through the Word and discourses from it
to acquire from Him truths connected with the Church,
from which comes a spiritual rationality;
and in addition to live from Him
according to those truths,
from which comes a spiritual morality.

 

~ The Earth Suffers ~

See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth
and devastate it;
He will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants --  
it will be the same
for priest as for people,
for master as for servant,
for mistress as for maid,
for seller as for buyer,
for borrower as for lender,
for debtor as for creditor.
The earth will be completely laid waste
and totally plundered.
The Lord has spoken this word.

The earth dries up and withers,
the world languishes and withers,
the exalted of the earth languish.
The earth is defiled by its people;
they have disobeyed the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse consumes the earth;
its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up,
and very few are left.
The new wine rises up and the vine withers;
the merrymakers groan.
The gaiety of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the revelers has stopped,
the joyful harp is silent.
No longer do they drink wine with a song;
the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
The ruined city lies desolate;
the entrance to every house is barred.
In the streets they cry out for wine;
all joy turns to gloom,
all gaiety is banished from the earth.
The city is left in ruins,
its gate is battered to pieces.
So will it be on the earth and among all nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.

(Isaiah 24:1-13)
 

CL 269 - The Love of Self

CL 269 [6]

. . . love of self is wrapped in glory,
and glory raises the understanding
even into the light of heaven.
Indeed, in every person
the understanding is capable of being raised
in accordance with his knowledge,
in contrast to the will,
which can be raised only by living
in accordance with
the truths of the church and of reason.
That is why even atheists
who from love of self are motivated
by the glory of their reputation
and by a resulting conceit in their own intelligence,
may possess a higher degree of rationality
than many others --
but only when they are directed
by the thought of their intellect,
and not by the affection of their will.
For the affection of the will
governs a person's inner self,
while the thought of the intellect
governs his outer one."

 

~ The Fallen ~

The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you --
all those who were leaders in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones --
all those who were kings over the nations.
They will all respond, they will say to you,
"You also have become weak, as we are;
you have become like us."
All your pomp has been brought you down to the grave,
along with the noise of your harps;
maggots are spread out beneath you
and worms cover you.

How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."
But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit.

(Isaiah 14:9-15)

CL 273 - Inner and Outer Affections; CL 276 - Divine and Rational Law

CL 273 [2-3]

Since angels and spirits have inner and outer affections
just as people in the world do,
and since their inner affections
cannot be hidden there by outward ones,
so that the inner affections show through
and make themselves evident,
therefore the two sets of affections in them
are brought into likeness and correspondence;
and after that their inner affections
are reflected through their outer ones,
being imaged in their faces,
perceived in the sounds of their speech,
and also visible in the gestures of their comportment.
(Angels and spirits have inner and outer affections, too,
because they have a mind and a body,
and their affections and consequent thoughts
are matters of the mind,
while their sensations and consequent pleasures
are matters of the body.)

It frequently happens in the spiritual world
that friends meet after death
and remember their friendship in the previous world;
and they then believe they will continue
to share a life of friendship as before.
But when their comradeship is perceived in heaven
as being one based only on outward affections,
a separation is effected
in accordance with their inner affections.
Then, from that place of meeting,
some are sent away to the north, and some to the west,
each of them being at some distance from the other,
so that they never see each other again
or recognize each other;
for in the places where they stay,
their faces change
to become images of their inner affections.
It is apparent from this
that in the spiritual world,
all are associated together
in accord with their inner affections,
and not in accord with their outer affections,
unless these are in harmony with their inner ones.

CL 276

. . . the Divine law and the rational law are the same.

~ I Will Look On ~

All you people of the world,
you who live on the earth,
when a banner is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpet sounds,
you will hear it.
This is what the Lord says to me:
"I will remain quiet
and will look on from My dwelling place,
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."

(Isaiah 18:3-4)

 

CL 266 - The Differences in Origin of Useful Services

CL 266 [5]

Devils perform useful services
for the sake of themselves and their reputation,
in order to be promoted to positions
of honor or gain wealth.
Angels, on the other hand,
do not perform useful services on that account,
but for the sake of the services, from a love of them.
A person cannot distinguish
the one and the other kinds of service,
but the Lord sees the difference.
Everyone who believes in the Lord
and refrains from evils as sins
performs useful services from the Lord.
But everyone who does not believe in the Lord
and does not refrain from evils as sins
performs the services he does from himself
and for the sake of himself.

 

~ I Will Praise You, O Lord ~

In that day you will say:

"I will praise You, O Lord.
Although You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away and You have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation."
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

(Isaiah 12:1-3)

** The Flight Into Egypt **

And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream,
saying, Arise,
and take the young Child and His mother,
and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word:
for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.
When he arose,
he took the young Child and His mother by night,
and departed into Egypt:

And was there until the death of Herod:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, Out of Egypt have I called My Son.
Then Herod, when he saw
that he was mocked of the wise men,
was exceeding wroth, and sent forth,
and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the coasts thereof,
from two years old and under,
according to the time
which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet,
saying, In Rama was there a voice heard,
lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and would not be comforted,
because they are not.

But when Herod was dead,
behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
Saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother,
and go into the land of Israel:
for they are dead which sought the young Child's life.

And he arose,
and took the young Child and His mother,
and came into the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea
in the room of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go thither:
notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream,
he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophets,
He shall be called a Nazarene.

(Matthew 2:13-23)

CL 249 - The Containing Vessel

CL 249

Human beings were created to be useful,
because useful service is the containing vessel
of goodness and truth,
and a marriage of good and truth
is the origin both of creation and also of married love . . ..

~ The Lord Speaks to Isaiah ~

The Lord spoke to me with His strong hand upon me,
warning me not to follow the way of this people.
He said:

"Do not call conspiracy
everything that these people call conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
He is the one you are to fear,
He is the one you are to dread,
and He will be a sanctuary . . ..

(Isaiah 8:11-14)

 

** The Adoration of the Wise Men **

And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young Child with Mary His mother,
and fell down, and worshiped Him:
and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto Him gifts;
gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
And being warned of God in a dream
that they should not return to Herod,
they departed into their own country another way.

And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream,
saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother,
and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word:
for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.
When he arose,
he took the young Child and His mother by night,
and departed into Egypt:

And was there until the death of Herod:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Out of Egypt have I called My Son.
Then Herod,
when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men,
was exceeding wroth, and sent forth,
and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the coasts thereof,
from two years old and under,
according to the time
which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet,
saying, In Rama was there a voice heard,
lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and would not be comforted,
because they are not.

(Matthew 2:11-15)

CL 235 - Spiritual Warmth

CL 235

Spiritual warmth originates from no other source
than the sun of the spiritual world.
For the sun there is an emanation from the Lord,
who is in the midst of it;
and being from the Lord,
in its essence that the sun is pure love.

From that sun emanate both heat and light,
but because that sun is pure love,
the heat from it in its essence is love,
and the light from it in its essence is wisdom.

~ Sheep Will Graze ~

Woe to those who rise early in the morning
to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
till they are inflamed with wine.
They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
tambourines and flutes and wine,
but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,
no respect for the works of His hands.

. . . So man will be brought low
and mankind humbled,
the eyes of the arrogant humbled.
But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by His justice,
and the holy God will show Himself holy
by His righteousness.
Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;
lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich.

(Psalm 5:11-12, 15-17)

** Where is He that is Born King of the Jews? **

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem, saying,
Where is He that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen His star in the east,
and are come to worship Him.

When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered
all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,
he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

And they said unto him,
In Bethlehem of Judea:
for thus it is written by the prophet,
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
art not the least among the princes of Judah:
for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule My people Israel.

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men,
inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said,
Go and search diligently for the young Child;
and when you have found Him, bring me word again,
that I may come and worship Him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed;
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them,
till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
When they saw the star,
they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

(Matthew 2:1-10)

CL 233 -The Light of Reason and an Intelligent Person

CL 233 [5, 7]

Above the level of reason . . .
is the light of heaven,
and below the level of reason
is the light of nature.
And the light of nature is such
that it can confirm whatever it pleases.
However, if the light of heaven
does not flow into the light of nature,
a person does not see whether any truth is true,
and so neither whether any falsity is false.
An ability to see both what is true and what is false
results from the presence of light from heaven
in the light of nature,
and the light of heaven comes from the God of heaven,
who is the Lord.

An ability to confirm whatever one pleases
is not the mark of an intelligent person;
rather, the mark of an intelligent person
is to be able to see
that truth is true and falsity false,
and to confirm that.

 

~ The Mountain of the Lord ~

This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw
concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

In the last days
the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.

Many peoples will come and say,

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us His ways,
so that we may walk in His paths."

The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.

(Isaiah 2:1-5)

** The Circumcision and Presentation in the Temple **

And when eight days were accomplished
for the circumcising of the child,
His name was called Jesus,
which was so named of the angel
before He was conceived in the womb.
And when the days of her purification
according to the law of Moses were accomplished,
they brought Him to Jerusalem,
to present Him to the Lord;
(as it is written in the law of the Lord,
every male that opens the womb
shall be called holy to the Lord;)
and to offer a sacrifice
according to that which is said in the law of the Lord,
a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon;
and the same man was just and devout,
waiting for the consolation of Israel:
and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit,
that he should not see death,
before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came by the Spirit into the temple:
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus,
to do for Him after the custom of the law,
then took he Him up in his arms,
and blessed God, and said,

Lord, now let thou Thy servant depart in peace,
according to Thy word:
For my eyes have seen Thy salvation,
which Thou hast prepared
before the face of all people;
a light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of Thy people Israel.

And Joseph and His mother marvelled at those things
which were spoken of Him.
And Simeon blessed them,
and said unto Mary His mother,
Behold, this Child is set
for the fall and rising again of many in Israel;
and for a sign which shall be spoken against.
(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,)
that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

And there was one Anna, a prophetess,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher:
she was of a great age,
and had lived with an husband
seven years from her virginity;
and she was a widow
of about fourscore and four years,
which departed not from the temple,
but served God
with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she, coming in that instant,
gave thanks likewise unto the Lord,
and spoke of Him to all them
that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

And when they had performed all things
according to the law of the Lord,
they returned into Galilee,
to their own city Nazareth.
And the Child grew,
and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom:
and the grace of God was upon Him.

(Luke 2:21-40)

CL 220 - Useful Service, the Intellect, the Will

CL 220 [3]

. . . useful services are
the good effects which truths produce.

. . . good in the intellect,
. . . in is essence is truth;
for the intellect can think
that something is good,
thus thinking as true
that this something is good.
It is different with the will.
This does not think about goodness and truth
but loves them and does them.

 

~ They Do Not Know ~

The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem
that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of
Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Hear, O heavens!
Listen, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
"I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against Me.
The ox knows his master,
the donkey his owner's manger,
but Israel does not know,
My people do not understand."

(Isaiah 1:1-3)

** Egypt **

AC 4964 [2, 3]

Egypt was one of those countries and kingdoms
where the Ancient Church was;
but as in Egypt it was chiefly memory-knowledges
that were handed down to posterity,
therefore such knowledge in general
is signified by "Egypt;"
and it is for this reason also that Egypt
is so often treated of in the prophetic Word . . ..

As the Lord is represented by Joseph,
its being here said
that Joseph was "brought down to Egypt,"
signifies that when the Lord glorified His internal man,
that is made it Divine,
He was first imbued
with the memory-knowledges of the church,
and from and by them
advanced to things more and more interior,
and at last even to those which are Divine.
For it pleased Him to glorify Himself,
that is, to make Himself Divine,
according to the same order
as that in which He regenerates man,
that is, makes him spiritual,
namely, from external things,
which are memory-knowledges and the truths of faith,
successively to internal things,
which are of charity toward the neighbor
and of love to Him.
From this it is plain what is signified
by the following words in Hosea:

When Israel was a child,
then I loved Him,
and called My son out of Egypt.
(Hosea 11:1);

that these words were spoken of the Lord
can be seen in Matthew 2:14-15:

So he got up,
took the child and His mother during the night
and left for Egypt,
where He stayed until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
"Out of Egypt I called My Son."

CL 212 - Purpose; CL 214 - Friendship and Married Love

CL 212

. . . every purpose regarded in its essence is love . . .

CL 214

Love prior to friendship is similar to
love for any of the opposite sex,
and after the wedding it gradually fades.
But love combined with friendship
continues on after the wedding
and is also strengthened.
It enters as well more deeply into the breast.
Friendship introduces the love
and causes it to be truly conjugial;
and then the love in turn causes this, its friendship,
to become also conjugial --
a friendship which differs greatly
from that of any other love,
because it is a full one.

 

~ Praise the Lord ~

Praise the Lord from the heavens,
praise Him in the heights above.
Praise Him, all His angels,
praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.
Praise Him, sun and moon,
praise Him, all you shining stars.
Praise Him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for He commanded and they were created.
He set them in place for ever and ever;
He gave a decree that will never pass away.

(Psalm 148:1-6)

 

** Symbolism in the Christmas Story **

De Verbo 7 [2]

It can be seen from the wise men from the east
who came to see the Lord when He was born
that a knowledge of correspondences
remained with many eastern people
even down to the time of the Lord's advent.

That is why a star went before them,
and they brought with them
gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And that is why the shepherds were told,
in order that they might know He was the Lord,
that this would be a sign to them:
that they would see Him in a manger,
wrapped in swaddling cloths,
because there was no room in the inn.

For the star which went before
symbolized knowledge from heaven,
inasmuch as stars in the Word symbolize concepts.
The gold symbolized celestial good,
the frankincense spiritual good,
and the myrrh natural good -
the three kinds of good
from which everything of worship originates.
The manger where the shepherds found
the infant Lord
symbolized spiritual nourishment,
because horses,
which get their nourishment from mangers,
symbolize things having to do with the understanding.
The inn where there was no room
symbolized the Jewish Church,
in which there was no spiritual nourishment at that time,
because everything of the Word,
and so everything of worship with them,
had by then been adulterated and perverted.
Therefore it is said that this would be a sign to them
that it was the Lord:

This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger.
(Luke 2:12).