AC 3868 - True Faith; AC 3869 - Simeon, Faith in the Will, Hearing

AC  3868

Few know that faith is trust and confidence,
and among these few, still fewer know
that trust or confidence is from charity,
and is not possible with anyone
who has not lived the life of charity.

AC 3869 [2-3, 5, 13]

. . . such is the circle of things in a person,
that whatever enters by the ear and eye,
or by the hearing and sight,
passes into his understanding,
and through the understanding into the will,
and from the will into act.
And in like manner the truth of faith
first becomes the truth of faith in memory-knowledge;
afterwards the truth of faith in the will;
and lastly the truth of faith in act, thus charity.
Faith in memory-knowledge, or in the understanding,
is "Reuben," as already shown;
faith in the will is "Simeon;"
and when faith in the will becomes charity it is "Levi."

That in the supreme sense
"to hear" means providence,
may be seen from what has been said above (n. 3863)
concerning "seeing,"
as being in the supreme sense foresight;
for the Lord's foreseeing
is the seeing from eternity to eternity that the case is so;
but the Lord's providing
is the directing that it be so;
and is the bending of a person's freedom to good,
insofar as He foresees
that the person will suffer himself
to be bent in freedom (see n. 3854).

. . . both "seeing" and "hearing"
are mentioned together in the Word throughout;
and by "seeing" is meant the same as by "Reuben;"
and by "hearing" the same as by "Simeon;"
for they are joined together as brother to brother.

. . . "to hear" means providence;
and "to see" foresight . . ..

Infinite will is providence,
and infinite understanding is foresight;
these are what are understood by "ear" and "eye"
in the supreme sense,
when they are attributed to Jehovah.
From all this it is now clear
what in every sense is meant by
"Jehovah has heard,"
from which Simeon was named.