AC 4844 - "Orphans" and "Widows"

AC 4844 [6, 17]

A father of the orphans, and a judge of the widows,
is God in the habitation of His holiness
(Psalm 68:5);

the "orphans" denote those who, like little children,
are in the good of innocence,
but not yet in truth,
whose father is said to be the Lord,
because He leads them as a father,
and this through truth into good,
that is, into the good of life or of wisdom.
"Widows" denote those who as adults are in truth,
but not yet in good,
whose judge is said to be the Lord,
because He leads them,
and this through good into truth,
that is, into the truth of intelligence;
for by a "judge" is meant one who leads.
Good without truth, which is the "orphan,"
becomes the good of wisdom
through the doctrine of truth;
and truth without good, which is the "widow,"
becomes the truth of intelligence
through a life of good.

That this is the meaning of a "widow,"
was known from their doctrinals
to those who were of the Ancient Church;
for their doctrinals were doctrinals of love and charity,
which contained innumerable things
that at this day are wholly obliterated.
From these doctrinals they knew what charity to exercise,
or what duty they owed the neighbor,
thus who were called widows,
who orphans, who sojourners, and so on.
Their knowledges of truth and memory-knowledges
were to know what the rituals of their church
represented and meant;
and those who were learned among them
knew what the things on the earth
and in the world represented;
for they knew
that universal nature was a theater representative
of the heavenly kingdom.
Such things elevated their minds to heavenly things,
and their doctrinals led to life.
But after the church turned aside from charity to faith,
and still more after it separated faith from charity,
and made faith saving without charity and its works,
men's minds could no longer be
elevated by knowledges to heavenly things,
nor by doctrinals be led to life;
and this to such a degree
that at last scarcely anyone believes
that there is any life after death,
and scarcely anyone knows what the heavenly is.
That there is any spiritual sense in the Word
which does not appear in the letter,
cannot be believed.
In this way people's minds have been closed.