** An Angel Appears to Mary **

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel
was sent from God unto a city of Galilee,
named Nazareth,
to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the house of David;
and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel came in unto her, and said,
Hail, thou that art highly favored,
the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him,
she was troubled at his saying,
and cast in her mind
what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said unto her,
Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son,
and shalt call His name JESUS.

He shall be great,
and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto Him
the throne of His father David:
And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of His kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel,
How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And the angel answered and said unto her,
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God.

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth,
she has also conceived a son in her old age:
and this is the sixth month with her,
who was called barren.
For with God nothing shall be impossible.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
be it unto me according to thy word.
And the angel departed from her.

(Luke 1:26-38)

AE 828 - How Celestial Angels Love the Neighbor

AE 828

Love to the Lord, in which love are the angels that are in the third heaven, has been treated of above; it now remains to say something about the love towards the neighbor with those angels. By the "neighbor" they mean uses, which indeed are works; but with those angels uses are all things that are done with them from the Lord, and these have relation especially to the worship of the Lord, to His church, to the implantation of its holy things, especially with little children, with whom they have conjunction, and whom they inspire with innocence and its affections; also to the good of society in general and also in particular. These are the things that chiefly belong to their love, because they belong to the Lord's love. The Lord operates these things with them by means of the love that is implanted in their life, which is such that they perceive in these things the delight of their life. Such things are the neighbor to them, because they do not regard persons, but such things as are with persons; for they have more wisdom than other angels, and it is wisdom to regard others from such things as are with them and which constitute them. For every angel, spirit, and man is his love and his affection, thus his good and his truth therefrom; and as these are what constitute them, and as they are wise, they must needs regard others according to what constitutes them. This to them is the neighbor, or the brother and companion, which are often mentioned in the Word, "brother" meaning to them good, and "companion" truth. Thence it is clear what love towards the neighbor is in the third heaven.

[2] As to the other things that relate to moral, civil, and domestic life, these, too, are works done by them from affection, but they are not such works as they mean by "neighbor," or "brother and companion;" for they derive somewhat from the world, and also from what is useful to themselves and their own. These works are derivations and productions of the uses before mentioned, and are such things as proceed from their thought, therefore they can discourse about them. These works keep the life of their body in such a state that the life of their love can dwell in it and perform its uses. These angels, being such, do not know what is meant by charity, or what is meant by faith; but they have the love of good in place of charity, and the love of truth in place of faith. Moreover, they are continually in the love of good and truth because their life is the affection of good, in which and from which is the perception of truth. When, therefore, charity from which is faith, or faith which is from charity, is mentioned, they do not know what is meant. As the angels of the third heaven are such they appear before the angels of the lower heavens like infants, some like boys, and all of them, as it were simple; moreover, they go naked. They appear like infants and like boys because they are in innocence; and love to the Lord from the Lord is innocence; and this is also why infants and boys signify in the Word innocence and also love to the Lord.

[3] They appear simple because they cannot talk about the holy things of heaven and the church; for with them these things are not in the memory, from which all speech comes, but in the life; and from that in the understanding, not as thought but as the affection of good in its form, which does not descend into speech; and if it were to descend it would not be spoken, but only sounded; and those who cannot speak about such things appear to themselves and others as if simple. A further reason is that they are in humility of heart, knowing that wisdom consists in perceiving that the things in which they are wise are scarcely anything in comparison with the things in which they are not wise. They go naked because "nakedness" means in the spiritual sense innocence, and because "garments" signify truths clothing good, and the truths that clothe are in the memory, and from that in the thought; while with them truths are in the life, that is, are hidden, and manifest themselves only before the perception when others are uttering them, or their ministers are preaching them from the Word. Again, they are perfected by the conversation of those who are in the understanding of truth, and by preachings, and also by books. And they write not by letters, like the other angels, but by curves and inflexions that contain arcana that transcend the understanding of the angels in the lower heavens. Furthermore, they dwell in expanses above the others, and in gardens there in which there are shrubberies and beds of flowers, and thus they are in perpetual representatives of heavenly things; and what is wonderful, not a stone is found there; because "stone" signifies natural truth, while "wood" signifies good; a "tree" perception, and a "flower" implantation. Thus much respecting love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor, that is, respecting celestial love. Hereafter spiritual love shall be described, also charity and faith.


 

~ The Lord Will Give What Is Good ~

Show us Your unfailing love, O Lord,
and grant us Your salvation.

I will listen to what God the Lord will say;
He promises peace to His people, His saints --
but let them not return to folly.
Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him,
that His glory may dwell in our land.

Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
Righteousness goes before Him
and prepares the way for His steps.

(Psalm 85:7-13)

** An Angel Appears to Zacharias **

 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea,
a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia:
and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elisabeth.
And they were both righteous before God,
walking in all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
And they had no child, 
because that Elisabeth was barren,
and they both were now well stricken in years.
And it came to pass,
that while he executed the priest's office
before God in the order of his course.

According to the custom of the priest's office,
his lot was to burn incense
when he went into the temple of the Lord.
And the whole multitude of the people
were praying without at the time of incense.

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord
standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled,
and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said unto him,
Fear not, Zacharias:
for thy prayer is heard;
and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son,
and thou shalt call his name John.
And thou shalt have joy and gladness;
and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord,
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;
and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost,
even from his mother's womb.
And many of the children of Israel
shall he turn to the Lord their God.
And he shall go before Him
in the spirit and power of Elias,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just;
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

And Zacharias said unto the angel,
Whereby shall I know this?
for I am an old man,
and my wife well stricken in years.

And the angel answering said unto him,
I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God;
and am sent to speak unto thee,
and to shew thee these glad tidings.
And, behold,
thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak,
until the day that these things shall be performed,
because thou believest not my words,
which shall be fulfilled in their season.

And the people waited for Zacharias,
and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
And when he came out,
he could not speak unto them:
and they perceived
that he had seen a vision in the temple:
for he beckoned unto them,
and remained speechless.

And it came to pass, that, as soon
as the days of his ministration were accomplished,
he departed to his own house.
And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived,
and hid herself five months, saying,
Thus hath the Lord dealt with me
in the days wherein he looked on me,
to take away my reproach among men.

(Luke 1:5-25)

AE 826 - To Love the Lord Is to Do

 AE 826 [2]

As the preceding articles treat of good works,
I will here go on with the plan
and show what is meant by love to the Lord.
All who are in love to the Lord from the Lord
are in the third or inmost heaven;
and they are such as have truths written in the life,
and not, like the angels of the lower heavens,
in the memory;
and this is why those who are in the third heaven
never talk about truths,
but only listen to others speaking about them,
and reply either that it is so,
or that it is somewhat so,
or that it is not so.
For they see in themselves
whether what they hear is true or not;
and this they see not from any sight in the thought,
as others do,
but from the affection of truth in the understanding.
For with them all truths are written on their affections,
and these derive their essence from celestial love,
which is love to the Lord.
Thus with them truths make one with their affections.
And as these angels are
in love to the Lord from the Lord,
their interior life consists of
mere affections of good and truth from that love.
For this reason they do not speak about truths,
but do truths, that is, good works.
For the affections of good and truth
that are from that love
must needs come forth in act,
and when they come forth they are called uses,
and are what are meant by good works.
Moreover, they perceive in themselves
the quality of the uses or works
from the affection from which they are;
and also the differences between them
from the conjunction of many affections;
thus they do all things with interior wisdom.
And because they do not think about truths
and thence speak about them,
but only do them,
and because this comes from their love to the Lord,
and thence from the affections alone,
of which their life consists,
it is evident that love to the Lord consists
in doing truths from the affection of them,
and that their deeds are good works;
consequently that to love the Lord is to do;
and this is what is meant by the Lord's words in John:

He that has My commandments and does them,
he it is that loves Me.
But he that loves Me not
keeps not My words.
(John 14:21, 24)

And they are meant by these words in Jeremiah:

I will give My law in the midst of them,
and will write it upon their heart.
Neither shall they teach a man his companion
or a man his brother,
Know ye Jehovah, for all shall know Me,
from the least of them to the greatest of them.
(Jeremiah 31:33, 34)

"The law" means all things of the Word,
thus all the truths and goods of heaven;
"in the midst of them" means in their life;
and the "heart" upon which the law shall be written
means the love.
From this it is clear how ample is
the doctrine of love to the Lord,
for it is the doctrine of
all affections which belong to love;
and every affection has truths written upon it
according to the quality of its perfection,
and brings them forth in act with infinite variety;
and these affections do not come into the understanding
in the form of ideas,
but come to the inner sensitive perception
in the form of delights of the will,
wherefore they cannot be described by words.
Those who imbibe the laws of life from the Word
and live according to them,
and who worship the Lord,
become angels of the third heaven.

~ Hear My Prayer ~

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young --
a place near Your altar,
O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
they are ever praising You.
Selah.

Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Look upon our shield, O God;
look with favor on Your anointed one.
Better is one day in Your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does He withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

O Lord Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.

(Psalm 84:1-4, 8-12)

** Luke Begins His Gospel **

 Many have undertaken to draw up an account
of the things that have been fulfilled among us,
just as they were handed down to us
by those who from the first
were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word.
Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated
everything from the beginning,
it seemed good also to me
to write an orderly account for you,
most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may know the certainty of the things
you have been taught.

(Luke 1:1-4)

 

AE 825 - The Pride of Self-Intelligence and True Good Works

 AE 825 [2, 3]

The pride of self-intelligence
is with all who confirm falsities
even to the destruction of the Divine truth,
in which the angels of heaven are;
for those are in that pride who regard self only,
that is, their reputation,
in their writings and preachings.
For such are in the love of self,
and everyone who is in the love of self
when he writes and preaches is in pride;
and pride derives all things from a person's own [proprium],
consequently it is called the pride of self-intelligence.
The love of self has its seat in the will,
and the pride of self-intelligence in the thought therefrom;
consequently when they think anything from self
they can think nothing but what is false,
for one's own [proprium] which is of the will
and therefore of the love,
is what rules, and this, viewed in itself, is nothing but evil.
It is otherwise with those who are in the love of uses,
and thence in the love of truth for the sake of truth.

Good works are all things
that a person does, writes, preaches, and even speaks,
not from self but from the Lord;
and he acts, writes, preaches, and speaks from the Lord
when he is living according to the laws of his religion.
The laws of our religion
are that one God is to be worshiped;
that adulteries, thefts, murders, false witness,
must be shunned;
thus also frauds, unlawful gains, hatreds, revenge, lies,
blasphemies, and many other things
that are mentioned not alone in the Decalogue
but everywhere else in the Word,
and are called sins against God and also abominations.
When a person shuns these
because they are opposed to the Word,
and so opposed to God,
and because they are from hell,
then a person lives according to the laws of his religion,
and so far as he lives according to his religion
is he led by the Lord;
and so far as he is led by the Lord are his works good;
for he is then led to do goods and to speak truths
for the sake of goods and for the sake of truths,
and not for the sake of self and the world;
uses are his enjoyments, and truths his delights.
Moreover, he is daily taught by the Lord
what he must do and what he must say,
also what he must preach or what he must write;
for when evils are removed
he is continually under the Lord's guidance
and in enlightenment.
Yet he is not led and taught immediately by any dictate,
or by any perceptible inspiration,
but by an influx into his spiritual delight,
from which he has perception
according to the truths of which his understanding consists.
When he acts from this influx,
he appears to be acting as if from himself,
and yet he acknowledges in heart that it is from the Lord.
All angels are in such a state;
and all infants in heaven
are being led by that way to heaven.

~ Help Us ~

Help us, O God our Savior,
for the glory of Your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your Name's sake.

Then we Your people,
the sheep of your pasture,
will praise You forever;
from generation to generation
we will recount Your praise.

(Psalm 79:9, 13)

** The Genealogy in Matthew **

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ,      

the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob;
and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
and Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar;
and Phares begat Esrom;
and Esrom begat Aram;
and Aram begat Aminadab;
and Aminadab begat Naasson;
and Naasson begat Salmon;
and Salmon begat Booz of Rachab;
and Booz begat Obed of Ruth;
and Obed begat Jesse;
and Jesse begat David the king.

And David the king begat Solomon
of her that had been the wife of Urias;
and Solomon begat Roboam;
and Roboam begat Abia;
and Abia begat Asa,
and Asa begat Josaphat;
and Josaphat begat Joram;
and Joram begat Ozias;
and Ozias begat Joatham;
and Joatham begat Achaz;
and Achaz begat Ezekias;
and Ezekias begat Manasses;
and Manasses begat Amon;
and Amon begat Josias;
and Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren,
about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

And after they were brought to Babylon,
Jechonias begat Salathiel;
and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
and Zorobabel begat Abiud;
and Abiud begat Eliakim;
and Eliakim begat Azor;
and Azor begat Sadoc;
and Sadoc begat Achim;
and Achim begat Eliud;
and Eliud begat Eleazar;
and Eleazar begat Matthan;
and Matthan begat Jacob;
and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary,
of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

So all the generations
from Abraham to David are fourteen generations;
and from David until the carrying away into Babylon
are fourteen generations;
and from the carrying away into Babylon
unto Christ are fourteen generations. 

(Matthew 1:1-17)

AE 819 - Reasoning From the Natural Man

AE 819 [3]

It is a reasoning from the natural man
that faith separate from good of life
is also spiritual,
and yet the goods that are of love
are what give life to faith,
and make it spiritual.
For love is the very soul of faith,
and love is doing,
for what a man loves he wills,
and what he wills he does.
And this the Lord teaches in John: --

He that has My commandments and does them,
he it is that loves Me;
but he that loves Me not
keeps not My words.
(John 14:21, 24)

So it is clear that faith without works is not spiritual;
for it is without its soul,
and faith without its soul is a dead faith.

~ Bring Gifts ~

Make vows to the Lord your God
and fulfill them;
let all the neighboring lands
bring gifts to the One to be feared.

(Psalm 76:11)

** An Oracle of Balaam **

And he took up his parable, and said,
Balaam the son of Beor has said,
and the man whose eyes are open has said:
He has said, which heard the words of God,
and knew the knowledge of the most High,
which saw the vision of the Almighty,
falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

I shall see Him, but not now:
I shall behold Him, but not nigh:
there shall come a Star out of Jacob,
and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
and shall smite the corners of Moab,
and destroy all the children of Sheth.
And Edom shall be a possession,
Seir also shall be a possession for His enemies;
and Israel shall do valiantly.

Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion,
and shall destroy Him that remains of the city.
(Numbers 24:15-19)

AC 3322 [3]

…treats of the coming of the Lord into the world,
whose Human Essence is called a "star out of Jacob,"
and a "scepter out of Israel".

AC 4240 [2]

Everyone can see that in these passages
"Seir" signifies something of the Lord,
for it is said that Jehovah "arose from Seir," … .
To "arise," and to "go forth out of Seir"
denote that He made even His natural Divine,
in order that from this also there might be light,
that is, intelligence and wisdom;
and that in this way He might become Jehovah,
not only as to His Human Rational,
but also as to His Human Natural;
and therefore it is said, "Jehovah arose from Seir,"
and "Jehovah went forth out of Seir."

 

AE 817 - Every Kind of Faith

AE 817 [5]

For every kind of faith
must necessarily conjoin itself with some love;
therefore when spiritual love,
which is charity, is separated,
faith then conjoins itself with the love of self
or with the love of the world,
which are the loves that are dominant in the natural man;
and this is why so heinous an adultery results
from faith separated from charity.

~ Endow and Praise! ~

Endow the King with Your justice, O God,
the Royal Son with Your righteousness.
He will judge Your people in righteousness,
Your afflicted ones with justice.
The mountains will bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.
He will defend the afflicted among the people
and save the children of the needy;
He will crush the oppressor.

He will endure as long as the sun,
as long as the moon,
through all generations.
He will be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth.
In His days the righteous will flourish;
prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.

He will rule from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
The desert tribes will bow before Him
and His enemies will like the dust.

Praise be to the Lord God,
the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
Praise be to His glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.

(Psalm 72:1-9, 18-19)

 

** Behold He Comes **

Behold I send My angel
who shall prepare the way before Me;
and the Lord whom ye seek
shall suddenly come to His temple,
even the Angel of the covenant whom you desire;
behold He comes
but who may abide the day of His coming?
Then shall the meat-offering
of Judah and of Jerusalem
be pleasant unto Jehovah,
as in the days of old,
and as in former years.
(Malachi 3:1-4)

AC 3881 [8]

. . . where the subject treated of
is clearly the Lord's advent.
It is known that the meat-offering
of Judah and Jerusalem was not then pleasant;
but that worship from love was pleasant,
which is the "meat-offering of Judah;"
and worship from faith derived from love,
which is the "meat-offering of Jerusalem."  

 

AE 816 - The Written Word

AE 816 [2]

In the sense of the letter of the Word
there are naked truths as well as truths clothed,
and these latter are appearances of truth,
and appearances of truth can be understood
only from passages where naked truths stand out;
out of these
doctrine can be formed by one
who is enlightened by the Lord,
and according to that doctrine
all other things can be explained.
This is why those who read the Word without doctrine
are led into manifold errors.
The Word was so written
in order that there might be
a conjunction of heaven with a person;
and there is a conjunction
because every expression in the Word,
and in some passages every letter,
contains a spiritual sense, in which the angels are;
consequently when a person perceives the Word
according to its appearances of truth
the angels that are about person understand it spiritually.
Thus the spiritual of heaven
is conjoined with the natural of the world
in respect to such things
as contribute to a person's life after death.
If the Word had been written otherwise
no conjunction of heaven with a person
would have been possible.

~ You Know My Folly, O God ~

You know my folly, O God;
my guilt is not hidden from You.

May those who hope in You
not be disgraced because of me,
O Lord, the Lord almighty;
may those who seek You
not be put to shame because of me.

I will praise God's name in song
and glorify Him with thanksgiving.

(Psalm 69:5-6, 30)

** The House of David Shall Be as God **

Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first,
that the glory of the house of David,
and the glory of the inhabitant of Jerusalem,
may not exalt itself above Judah.
In that day shall Jehovah defend
the inhabitant of Jerusalem,
and the house of David shall be as God,
and as the angel of Jehovah before them.
And I will pour upon the house of David,
and upon the inhabitant of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace.
In that day there shall be a fountain
open to the house of David,
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
(Zechariah 12:7-8, 10; 13:1)

AE 205 [3]

Here the Lord's coming is treated of,
and the salvation at that time of those
who are of His spiritual kingdom.
"Tents of Judah" mean the celestial kingdom;
and the
"house of David and the inhabitant of Jerusalem,"
the spiritual kingdom.
The spiritual kingdom is constituted
of those in heaven and on earth
who are in Divine truth,
and the celestial kingdom
of those who are in Divine good.
From this it can be seen what these words mean,
namely, that these two kingdoms shall act as one,
and that one shall not exalt itself above the other.
That "Judah" signifies the Lord
in respect to celestial love . . ..
And that "Jerusalem"
signifies the Lord's spiritual kingdom . . ..
The same is therefore signified by
"the house of David;"
consequently it is here said,
"the house of David shall be as God,
and as the angel of Jehovah;"
"God" also means
the Lord in respect to Divine truth;
and the like is meant by the "angel of Jehovah".

AE 815 - Faith in the Lord When He Was In This World

AE 815 [5, 6, 7, 9]

There were three reasons why
faith in the Lord healed these;
first, because they acknowledged His Divine omnipotence,
and that He was God;
secondly, because faith is acknowledgment,
and from acknowledgment intuition;
and all intuition from acknowledgment
makes another to be present;
this is a common thing in the spiritual world.
So now, when a New Church
was to be established by the Lord,
it was this intuition
from an acknowledgment of the Lord's omnipotence
from which they were first to look to the Lord;
and from this it is clear what is here meant by faith.
The third reason was,
that all the diseases healed by the Lord
represented and thus signified
the spiritual diseases that correspond to
these natural diseases;
and spiritual diseases can be healed only by the Lord,
and in fact by looking to His Divine omnipotence
and by repentance of life.
This is why He sometimes said,
"Thy sins are forgiven thee; go and sin no more."
This faith also was represented and signified
by their miraculous faith;
but the faith by which
spiritual diseases are healed by the Lord
can be given only through truths from the Word
and a life according to them;
the truths themselves and the life itself according to them
make the quality of the faith.

. . . it was faith in the Lord's omnipotence that healed them,
and that the same faith remitted, that is, removed, sins.
The reason of this was that this woman not only had faith
in the Divine omnipotence of the Lord, but also loved Him,
for she kissed His feet.
Wherefore the Lord said,
"Thy sins are forgiven thee, thy faith hath saved thee,"
(Luke 7: 38, 48, 50)
because faith makes the Divine of the Lord to be present,
and love conjoins.
It is possible, however, for the Lord to be present
and not be conjoined;
from which it is evident that it is faith from love that saves.

The Lord called the disciples "men of little faith"
when they were unable to do miracles in His name,
and He was unable to do miracles in His own country
because of their unbelief,
for the reason that while the disciples believed
the Lord to be the Messiah or Christ,
also the Son of God,
and the prophet of whom it was written in the Word,
yet they did not believe that He was God Almighty,
and that Jehovah the Father was in Him;
and yet so far as they believed Him to be a man,
and not at the same time God,
His Divine to which omnipotence belongs
could not be present with the disciples by faith.

. . . faith does not save until a person lives the life of faith,
which is charity;
for he then wills and does what he believes,
and to will and to do is of the love,
and love conjoins to Him whom faith presents as present.

~ May God Be Gracious to Us and Bless Us ~

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make His face shine upon us, Selah,
that Your ways may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise You, O God;
may all the peoples praise You.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for You rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth.  Selah.
May the peoples praise You, O God;
may all the peoples praise You.

Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.
God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.

(Psalm 67)

** Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion! **

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

(Zechariah 9:9-10)

AE 810 - Captivity; AE 812 - Killing With the Sword

  AE 810

If anyone shall lead into captivity he shall go into captivity,
(Revelation 13:10)

means that those who have shut out others from truths
are shut out from the Divine truths in the Word.
This is evident from the signification of "captivity,"
as being to shut out from truths,
here by reasonings from the natural man,
for this is the spiritual captivity
that is meant by "captivity" in the internal sense.
From this it is clear that "to lead into captivity" means
to shut out others from truths;
and "to go into captivity"
means to be also shut out from truths.
Here "to lead into captivity" means
to shut out others from truths
by reasonings from the natural man,
because "the beast of the dragon,"
which is here treated of,
means those who separate faith from life,
and confirm that separation
by reasonings from the natural man.

AE 812 [1-2]

For there are various kinds of falsities,
for instance, falsities of ignorance,
falsities of religion,
and falsities from misunderstanding the Word;
in a word, the falsities that lead to a life of evil,
or that proceed from a life of evil,
because they are from hell close heaven.
From this it is clear that
"if anyone shall kill with the sword
he must be killed with the sword"
means that those who imbue* others with falsities
will be imbued with falsities from hell.

There is a like signification in what the Lord said to Peter:

All they that take the sword must perish by the sword.
(Matthew. 26:52)

This was said to Peter
because he represented the truth of faith,
and also the falsity of faith;
therefore "to take the sword and to perish by it"
meant to receive the falsity of faith,
and to perish by it.
Those who are signified by this "beast,"
who are such as by reasonings
confirm the separation of faith from life,
"kill with the sword, and are killed with the sword,"
that is, imbue others with falsities,
and are themselves imbued with falsities from hell,
because the dogma of faith alone
shuts out all truths and rejects all goods.
Faith alone shuts out all truths
because such insist that we are saved solely by this,
"That the Lord endured the cross for our sins,
and thereby took away the condemnation of the law,
and that He thus redeemed us."
And as they hold that this alone,
which they call faith itself, saves,
they make no effort to learn truths,
although truths are what teach man how he must live,
and these truths are manifold.
That faith alone rejects goods follows from the dogma itself,
which is that faith justifies without good works;
thus the essential goods of love to God
and the goods of charity towards the neighbor
are made of no account.
___________

* imbue - to inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality

~ My Refuge ~

Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.

From the ends of the earth I call to You,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.

I long to dwell in Your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Selah.

(Psalm 61:1-4)

** We Have Waited for Him **

 

AC 1769 [2]

No other was acknowledged and called Jehovah
by the Jewish Church,
for it worshiped the one God Jehovah,
and this was the more fully the case for the reason -
which was unknown to most of them -
that all the rites of that church represented the Lord,
and all the things of the Word in the internal sense
were significative of Him.

He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord Jehovih will wipe away
the tears from off all faces.
And it shall be said in that day,
Lo, this is our God;
we have waited for Him,
and He will save us;
this is Jehovah,
we have waited for Him;
let us exult and be glad in his salvation
(Isaiah 25:8-9);

(Treating of the coming of the Lord.) 

 

AE 808 - "If Any One Has An Ear Let Him Hear"

  AE 808

If any one has an ear let him hear
(Revelation 8:9)

means . . . one who understands and hearkens to
what the Lord teaches in the Word;
that from these words also means
the reception of Divine truth
by those who are in the understanding of it.
Those who are in the perception of good are also meant,
because "to have an ear and to hear"
means both to understand truth and to perceive good;
to understand truth pertains to thought,
and to perceive good pertains to affection;
and both pertain to the ear or to hearing,
since what enters the ear
passes into the sight of the understanding
and also into the affection of the will;
and for this reason the "ear" and "hearing"
mean hearkening and obedience.
So "to hear" anyone means to understand,
and "to give ear to" anyone means to obey,
and both are meant by "hearkening."

~ My Soul Takes Refuge in the Lord ~

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
for in You my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of Your wings
until the disaster has passed.

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of You among the peoples.
For great is Your love,
reaching to the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let Your glory be over all the earth.

(Psalm 57:1, 7-11)

** He Shall Be Called JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS **

  AC 3654 [7]

Behold the days come, said Jehovah,
that I will raise unto David a righteous offshoot,
and He shall reign as king, and prosper,
and shall execute
judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In His days Judah shall be saved,
and Israel shall dwell securely;
and this is His name whereby He shall be called:
JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

(Jeremiah 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16);

where the Lord's advent is treated of,
"Judah" denoting those
who are in the good of love to the Lord;
"Israel," those who are in the truth of this good.

AE 805, 806 - Shorts About Justice, Sins, and the Lord

  AE 805 [3, 5, 6]

. . . justice is a Divine attribute, but not vindictive justice . . .

For sins can be annulled only by
repentance of life by him who has sinned.

. . . it is blasphemy to say that a person can live wickedly
and yet live from the Lord.

. . . justice . . . requires that every one
should have reward to the extent that he lives from the Lord.

AE 806 [6]

. . . without the Lord there is no salvation.

~ Have Mercy On Me, O God ~

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to Your unfailing love;
according to Your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgression,
and my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You are proved right when You speak
and justified when You judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely You desire truth in the inner parts;
You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Cleanse me with hyssop,
and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

(Psalm 51:1-7)

** Another Prophecy from Psalms **

Endow the king with Your justice, O God,
the royal son with Your righteousness.
He will judge Your people in righteousness,
Your afflicted ones with justice.
The mountains will bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.
He will defend the afflicted among the people
and save the children of the needy;
He will crush the oppressor.

He will endure as long as the sun,
as long as the moon,
through all generations.
He will be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth.
In His days the righteous will flourish;
prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.

He will rule from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
The desert tribes will bow before Him
and His enemies will lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
will bring tribute to Him;
the kings of Sheba and Seba will present Him gifts.
All kings will bow down to Him
and all nations will serve Him.

For He will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.
He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
He will rescue them from violence,
for precious is their blood in His sight.

Long may He live!
May gold from Sheba be given Him.
May people ever pray for Him
and bless Him all day long.
Let grain abound throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills may it sway.
Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon;
let it thrive like the grass of the field.
May His name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun.
All nations will be blessed through Him,
and they will call Him blessed.

Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
Praise be to His glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.

(Psalm 72:1-19; listed in Coronis 60)

 

AE 802 - To Believe or To Believe In

 AE 802 [7]

. . . it is to be noted that
it is one thing to believe a person
and another thing to believe in him;
as to believe that there is a God
and to believe in Him.
To believe in God or in His name
means both to do and to have faith, as in John:

As many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become sons of God,
to them that believe in His name;
who were born,
not of bloods nor of the will of the flesh
nor of the will of man (vir),
but of God.
(John 1:12, 13).

Those born "not of bloods"
are those who do not falsify the Word;
those born "not of the will of the flesh"
are those who are not in lusts from love of self;
those born "not of the will of man"
are those who are not in falsities
from the pride of self-intelligence;
those "born of God"
are those who are regenerated by the Lord
by means of truths from the Word
and a life according to them;
these are they who believe in the name of the Lord,
and from that are called "sons of God."
Such a faith
is not the faith
of the teachers of the church at this day.

~ Great Is the Lord ~

Great is the Lord,
and most worthy of praise,
in the city of our God,
His holy mountain.
It is beautiful in its loftiness,
the joy of the whole earth.

As we have heard,
so have we seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
in the city of our God:
God makes her secure forever.

Within your temple, O God,
we meditate on your unfailing love.
Like your name, O God,
your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.

For this God is our God for ever and ever;
He will be our guide even to the end.

(Psalm 48:1-2, 8-10, 14)

 

** One Like the Son of Man (Daniel) **

I saw, and behold,
one like the Son of man
came with the clouds of heaven,
and came to the Ancient of days,
and they brought Him near before Him;
and there was given Him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,
that all people, and nations, and languages
should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
(Daniel 7:13-14).

AC 49 [4]

The Lord also frequently calls Himself
the "Son of man" that is, the man,
and, as in Daniel, foretells His coming in glory:

Then shall they see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory.
(Matthew 24:30)

The "clouds of heaven"
are the literal sense of the Word;
"power and great glory"
are the internal sense of the Word,
which in all things both in general and in particular
has reference solely to the Lord and His kingdom;
and it is from this
that the internal sense derives its power and glory.

AC 1990 [3]

. . . the Infinite Esse, which is Jehovah,
could not possibly be made known to a person
except through the Human Essence,
thus except through the Lord . . ..
. . . He adopted the Human Essence itself
by being born.
He did so in order that the Infinite Divine
could be joined to a person
even though man was so remote.
Otherwise mankind would have died the death
of those for ever damned.

AE 799 - A Tabernacle

 AE 799 [1-2]

"A tabernacle" signifies the church
in respect to doctrine and worship,
because those who were of the church
in most ancient times
dwelt in tabernacles and tents,
and also journeyed with them,
for they were then mostly shepherds of sheep;
and the father of the family taught those
who were born of his house
the precepts of charity and thus the life of love,
in tabernacles, as was done afterwards in temples;
and this is why a "tabernacle"
has a similar signification as "the house of God,"
namely, the worship of God according to doctrine,
consequently also the church,
since the church is a church
from a life according to doctrine,
and a life according to doctrine is worship.

Since these most ancient people with whom
the church was worshiped God under a human form,
and since God under a human form is the Lord,
they worshiped the Lord;
and therefore their church was the celestial church,
which is distinguished from the spiritual church in this,
that the celestial church
is in love to the Lord
and in worship from that love,
while the spiritual church
is in love towards the neighbor
and in worship from that love.
And as the church with the most ancient people was such,
and the doctrine of love to the Lord
was then taught in tabernacles,
and thence tabernacles
were more loved by the Lord than temples,
therefore by command of the Lord on Mount Sinai
a tabernacle was built
in which the Israelitish nation might have holy worship;
and afterwards,
in commemoration of the most holy worship in tabernacles,
the feast of tabernacles was instituted.

" Be Still and Know "

 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

The Lord almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

(Psalm 46:10-11)

 

 

** "He Bore Our Sicknesses" **

  AC  9937 [6]

. . . it can be known what is signified by all that is said
in the fifty-third chapter of the . . . prophet Isaiah
concerning the Lord,
in which from beginning to end
the state of His temptations is treated of;
thus the state in which He was
while He fought with the hells,
for temptations are nothing else
than combats with these.
This state is thus described:

He bore our sicknesses,
and carried our griefs;
He was pierced for our transgressions,
and bruised for our iniquities;
Jehovah made to fall on Him
the iniquity of us all;
and thus He gave the wicked to their sepulcher;
the will of Jehovah shall prosper by His hand;
He shall see from the labor of His soul and be sated;
and by His wisdom shall justify many,
because He hath borne their iniquities,
and thus hath carried the sin of many.
(Isaiah 53:4-5)

He is also called there "the Arm of Jehovah,"
by which is signified Divine power.
That by "bearing sicknesses," "sorrows," and "iniquities,"
and by "being pierced and bruised by them,"
is signified a state of temptations, is evident;
for in such a state there are griefs of soul,
distresses, and despairs,
which in this way cause anguish.
Such things are induced by the hells,
for in temptations they assault
the very love of him against whom they fight;
the love of everyone being the inmost of his life.
The Lord's love was the love of saving the human race,
which love was the Esse of His life,
for this love was the Divine in Him.

AE 798 [6]

No one can do good from charity
unless his spiritual mind is opened,
and the spiritual mind is opened only by person
abstaining from doing evils and shunning them,
and finally turning away from them
because they are contrary to
the Divine commandments in the Word,
thus contrary to the Lord.
When a person so shuns and turns away from evils
all things that he thinks, wills, and does, are good
because they are from the Lord;
for the Lord is continually present,
knocks at the door,
is urgent and wishes to enter,
but evils oppose;
therefore a person must open the door
by removing the evils,
for it is only when evils are removed
that the Lord enters and sups there (Revelation 3:20).
It is said that a person opens and removes,
because it is from self that a person does evils;
and inasmuch as the Lord is continually present,
knocks at the door, and is urgent,
as has been said,
a person has the ability to refrain from evils
as if of himself;
this ability is also given to every person.
This is why, since a person can of himself
close heaven to himself
he can also
as if of himself
open heaven,
provided he thinks and wills to refrain from evils,
looks to the Lord,
and when he refrains
acknowledges that it is from the Lord.
When, therefore, evils have been removed,
whatever a person does is good,
since it is from the Lord . . ..

~ Patiently Wait and Trust ~

I waited patiently for the Lord;
He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and the mire;
He set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.

Blessed is the man
who makes the Lord his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
Many, O Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.

(Psalm 40:1-5)

** They Divided His Garments (from Psalms) **

Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet
out of the midst of thy brethren,
like unto Me;
Him you shall obey.
And I will put My words in His mouth.
Whence it shall come to pass,
that the man who will not obey His words,
I will require it of him.

(Deuteronomy 18:15-18)

__________

AC 2534

One reads the word 'prophet' many times in the Word,
and in the sense of the letter
it means those to whom revelation is given,
and also - abstractedly from persons - revelation itself.
But in the internal sense
that word means one who teaches,
and also - abstractedly - doctrine itself.
And because, as has been stated,
the Lord is doctrine itself,
or the Word which teaches,
He is called 'a Prophet' . . .

Jehovah your God will raise up a Prophet like me
from the midst of you, from your brothers;
Him shall you obey.

 

AE 797 - To Love God and to Love the Neighbor

 AE 797 [4]

To love God and to love the neighbor
is nothing else than doing goods,
for love in its essence is to will,
and in its existence it is to do;
for what a person loves, that he wills,
and what he wills from love, that he does.
Therefore also the Lord teaches:

He that has My commandments and does them,
he it is that loves Me;
 but he that loves Me not
 keeps not My commandments.
(John 14:21, 24)

From this it follows
that those who regard good works,
which are the goods of love,
the goods of charity,
and the goods of life,
which in heaven are called uses,
as of no account, and who make them of no account,
close heaven to themselves;
for they neither love God nor love the neighbor,
and yet heaven is heaven from these two loves.
This is especially what falsifies the Word
even to the destruction of Divine truth,
which in heaven is from the Lord,
and which is the Lord there.

~ Trust, Dwell, Delight, Commit, Be Still & Wait, Refrain ~

Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the Lord
and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in Him and He will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret-- it leads only to evil.
For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the Lord
will inherit the land.

(Psalm 37:3-9)

** "I Have Installed My King" **

 

Why have the nations become tumultuous,
and why have the peoples meditated vanity?
The kings of the earth set themselves
and the rulers took counsel together
against Jehovah and against His Anointed.
I have anointed My king upon Zion,
the mountain of My holiness.
I will declare the statute,
Jehovah said unto me,
Thou art My Son,
this day have I begotten Thee;
ask of Me
and I will give the nations for Thine inheritance,
and the uttermost parts of the earth
for Thy possession.
Kiss the Son,
lest He be angry and ye perish in the way,
for His anger will shortly burn forth;
blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.

(Psalm 2:1, 2, 6-8, 12)

AE 684 [10]

Evidently "the Anointed of Jehovah" means here
the Lord in relation to the Divine Human,
for it is said,

"Jehovah said unto Me, Thou art My Son,
this day have I begotten Thee;
kiss the Son lest ye perish;
blessed are all they that put their trust in Him."
In the sense of the letter this indeed is said of David,
but in the Word "David" means the Lord
in relation to Divine truth, or as a King.
It is evident also that the Lord's coming
and finally the Last Judgment by Him,
and afterwards His sovereignty
over all things of the world,
are here treated of. 

AE 795 - Charity and the Spiritual Mind

  AE 795

. . . charity . . . in its essence is the affection of
knowing, understanding, willing, and doing truth.

. . . charity is from the Lord,
and is also formed first in the spiritual mind;
but because charity does not appear to a person
before it becomes faith
therefore it may be said
that faith does not exist with a person
until it becomes charity in form.
So it may be said
of the existence of charity and faith with a person,
that they both come into existence at the same moment;
for although charity produces faith,
yet as they make one
neither of them
in respect to a person's perception
can exist separate from the other
in regard either to degree or to quality.
From this it is evident
that the conjunction of the Lord with a person
is like the conjunction of good with truth.
Good is from the Lord, and truths are with man,
but they are truths that are not yet living.
But as a person receives good in truths
so he receives the Lord into himself and lives;
and he receives
in the measure in which he abstains from evils,
and from the Word shuns and turns away from them,
for thus he shuns and turns away from them
from the Lord and not from self.

~ Seek the Lord ~

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
Fear the Lord, you His saints,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord
lack no good thing.

(Psalm 34:8-10)

** A Prophecy from Deuteronomy **

(Moses is speaking to the Children of Israel.)

The Lord your God will raise up for you
a prophet like me from among your own brothers.
You must obey Him.
For this is what you asked of the Lord Your God at Horeb.
On the day of the assembly when you said,
"Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God
nor see this great fire anymore,
or we will die."

The Lord said to me:
"What they say is good.
I will raise up for them
a prophet like you from among their brothers;
I will put My words in His mouth,
and He will tell them everything I command.

 
(Deuteronomy 18:15-18)

_____________

AC 2534

 
One reads the word 'prophet' many times in the Word,
and in the sense of the letter
it means those to whom revelation is given,
and also - abstractedly from persons - revelation itself.
But in the internal sense
that word means one who teaches,
and also - abstractedly - doctrine itself.
And because, as has been stated,
the Lord is doctrine itself,
or the Word which teaches,
He is called 'a Prophet' . . .

The Lord your God will raise up a prophet like me
from the midst of you, from your brothers;
Him shall you obey.

(Deuteronomy 18:15, 18)

AE 790 - The Opening of the Spiritual Mind

  AE 790 [4, 10, 12]

In the Word there are truths
that are to be known and thought,
and goods that must be willed and done;
therefore it is by these goods and these truths
that person's spiritual mind is opened and formed.

. . . a person is not a person from his parents,
but from the Lord,
of whom he is born and created anew.

. . . charity and faith act as one,
like will and understanding;
and that such as the charity is
such is the faith.
But these are in the natural mind;
but in the spiritual mind
there is the love of good in place of charity,
and the perception of truth in the place of faith.

~ The Last Verse or Verses of Four Psalms ~

  The Lord gives strength to His people;
the Lord blesses His people with peace.

-- (Psalm 29:11)
___________

You turned my wiling into dancing;
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever.

-- (Psalm 30:11-12)
___________

Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the Lord.

-- (Psalm 31:24)
____________

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!

-- (Psalm 32:11)

** From Balaam's Third Oracle **

I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not nigh;
there shall arise a star out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.

(Numbers 24:17)
_______________________________

AC 1675

Where "to see Him, but not now,"
to "behold Him, but not nigh,"
is the Lord's coming into the world;
whose Human Essence is called
"a star out of Jacob,"
which is to arise . . ..

 

AE 785 - Faith, Charity, and Good Works

AE 785 [5, 6]

. . . the twelve disciples of the Lord represented the church
 in respect to all things of faith and charity in the complex;
and of them, Peter, James, and John
represented faith, charity, and good works in their order,
Peter faith,
James charity,
and John good works;
therefore the Lord said to Peter,
when Peter saw John following the Lord:

What is that to thee, Peter?
Follow thou Me, John;
for Peter said of John, What of him?
(John 21:21, 22)

This means that those who do good works
must follow the Lord.
Because John represented the church
in respect to good works,
he reclined at the Lord's breast.
That the church is with those who do good works
is also meant by the Lord's words from the cross to John:

Jesus saw His mother,
and spoke to the disciple whom He loved,
who was standing by;
and He said to His mother, Woman, behold thy Son;
and He said to that disciple, Behold thy mother;
and from that hour
that disciple took her unto himself.
(John 19:26, 27)

This means that where good works are,
there the church will be,
for in the Word "woman," like as "mother,"
means the church.

Besides those passages in the Word
where "deeds" and "doing" are mentioned
there are also very many
where "love" and "loving" are mentioned;
and "loving" means the like as "doing,"
since he that loves does,
for to love is to will,
since everyone wills what he interiorly loves;
and to will is to do,
since everyone does that which he wills when he is able.
Moreover, what is done is nothing but the will in act.

"To love God above all things,
and the neighbor as oneself,"
is to do His commandments (John 14:21-24);
and "the law and the prophets"
mean the Word in all things and in every particular.
From all these passages cited from the Word
it is fully evident
that it is not faith separated from good works that saves,
but faith from good works and with them.
For he who does good works has faith,
but he who does them not has no faith.

~ Good and Upright Is the Lord ~

Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore He instructs sinners in His ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of His covenant.

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.

(Psalm 25:10-11; 27:13-14)

** The First Prophecy of the Messiah Who Was to Come **

And the LORD God said unto the serpent,
Because thou hast done this,
thou art cursed above all cattle,
and above every beast of the field;
upon thy belly shalt thou go,
and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed;
it shall bruise thy head,
and thou shalt bruise his heel.
(Genesis 3:14-15)

AC 250
Everyone is aware that this is the first prophecy
of the Lord's advent into the world;
it appears indeed clearly from the words themselves,
and therefore from them and from the prophets
even the Jews knew that a Messiah was to come.

By the "serpent" is here meant all evil in general,
and specifically the love of self;
by the "woman" is meant the church;
by the "seed of the serpent" all infidelity;
by the "seed of the woman" faith in the Lord;
by "He" the Lord Himself;
by the "head of the serpent"
the dominion of evil in general,
and specifically that of the love of self;
by to "trample upon" depression,
so that it should "go upon the belly and eat dust;"
and by the "heel"
the lowest natural (as the corporeal),
which the serpent should "bruise." 

_______________________________________

These annual ** Christmas Quotes **
will run from today until January 6
as part of our yearly celebration of the Lord's birth on earth.
Many will be repeats from the past, but then so is Christmas
a well worn path of love and faith.
'O Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord'