AE 1174 - Lord leads him as if by the hand

AE 1174 [2]
The affections of a person,
from which are his thoughts,
have extension into societies in the spiritual world on every side,
into more or fewer of them
according to the amount and quality of the affection.
A person, as to his spirit, is within these societies,
and to them he is attached as it were with extended cords,
which determine the space where he can walk.
As he passes from one affection into another,
so he passes from one society into another,
and the society he is in, and the place where he is in the society,
is the center from which the affection and its thought
extends to other societies as circumferences,
and these are thus in unbroken connection
with the affection at the center,
and from that affection a person then thinks and speaks.

A person acquires this sphere,
which is the sphere of his affections and thoughts therefrom,
while he is in the world;
from hell if he is evil,
from heaven if he is good.
Of this a person is ignorant,
because he does not know that such things exist.
Through these societies a person, that is, a person's mind,
although bound walks free;
but he is led by the Lord,
and he takes no step into which and from which the Lord does not lead;
and yet the Lord grants continually
that a person shall have no other thought
than that he goes of himself in full liberty;
and he is permitted to persuade himself of this
because it is according to a law of the Divine providence
that a person shall go wherever his affection wills.
If his affection is evil he is conveyed through infernal societies;
and if he does not look to the Lord
he is carried into these societies more interiorly and deeply.
And yet the Lord leads him as if by the hand,
permitting and withholding as far as a person is willing to follow in freedom.
But if a person looks to the Lord
he is led forth from these societies gradually,
according to the order and connection in which they stand,
which order and connection no one knows but the Lord only,
and thus he is brought by continual steps out of hell
up towards heaven and into heaven.

AE 1171 - the process & effects of reformation

AE 1171
(1) Before reformation
the light of the understanding is like the light of the moon,
clear according to the knowledges of truth and good;
but after reformation it is like the light of the sun,
clear according to the application of the knowledges of truth and good
to the uses of life.

(2) The reason that the understanding has not been destroyed
is that a person may know truths,
and from truths see the evils of his will,
and seeing them he may resist them as if from himself,
and thus be reformed.

(3) And yet a person is not reformed from his understanding,
but by means of the recognition of truths by the understanding
and its seeing evils by them;
for the operation of the Lord's Divine providence
is into the love of a person's will,
and from that into the understanding,
and not the reverse.

(4) The love of the will gives intelligence according to its quality.
Natural love from spiritual love
gives intelligence in civil and moral matters;
but spiritual love in natural love
gives intelligence in spiritual matters;
but merely natural love and the conceit that comes from it
does not give intelligence in spiritual matters,
but gives the ability to confirm whatever it pleases,
and after confirmation so infatuates the understanding
that it sees falsity as truth, and evil as good.
Nevertheless, this love does not take away the ability
to understand truths in their light;
when it is present it takes it away,
but not when it is absent.

(5) When the will has been reformed,
and the wisdom belonging to the understanding
has come to be of the love belonging to the will,
that is, when wisdom comes to be the love of truth and good in its form,
a person is like a garden in spring time,
when heat is united to light and gives a soul to the germinations.
Spiritual germinations are such productions of wisdom from love;
and in every such production there is a soul from that love,
while its clothing is from wisdom;
thus the will is like a father and the understanding like a mother.

(6) Such is a person's life,
not only the life of his mind,
but also the life of his body,
since the life of the mind acts as one
with the life of the body by correspondences.
For the life of the will or love
corresponds to the life of the heart,
and the life of the understanding or wisdom
corresponds to the life of the lungs;
and these are the two fountains of the life of the body.

AE 1162, 1166 - withdrawing from evils

AE 1162 [2]
The eighth law of the Divine providence is
that the Lord is continually withdrawing a person from evils
so far as a person is willing from freedom to be withdrawn;
that so far as a person can be withdrawn from evils
the Lord leads him to good and thus to heaven;
but so far as a person cannot be withdrawn from evils
the Lord cannot lead him to good and thus to heaven;
for so far as a person has been withdrawn from evils
so far he does good from the Lord,
and that good is good in itself;
but so far as he has not been withdrawn from evils,
so far he does good from himself,
and that good has evil within it.

AE 1166 [2]
The Lord alone resists the evils with a person by Himself
and not through any angels of heaven,
because to resist evils with a person
is a work of Divine omnipotence, Divine omniscience, and Divine providence.
It is a work of Divine omnipotence,
because to resist one evil is to resist many,
and even to resist the hells.
For every evil is joined with innumerable other evils,
and they cling together like the hells with each other;
for as evils make one so do the hells,
and as the hells make one so do evils,
and no one but the Lord is able to resist the hells so united.
It is a work of Divine omniscience,
because the Lord alone knows what a person is and what his evils are,
and what their connection is with other evils,
thus in what order they must be removed
that a person may be inwardly or radically cured.
It is a work of Divine providence,
that nothing may be done contrary to the laws of order,
and that what is done may promote a person's eternal good;
for Divine omnipotence, Divine omniscience, and Divine providence
have respect in every least particular to what is eternal.

AE 1158 - a law of order relating to reformation

AE 1158[2]
. . . everyone is capable of being reformed,
and that being reformed
is nothing else than being removed from evil loves.

AE 1159 [5]
. . . it is according to a law of order relating to reformation,
which is called a law of Divine providence,
that a person is not let into the truths of faith and the goods of love
except so far as he can be withheld from evils and held in goods
even to the end of life,
and that it is better for a person to be permanently evil
than that he be good and afterwards evil,
for thus he becomes profane.
It is for this reason that the Lord,
who provides all things and foresees all things,
hides the operations of His providence,
even to the extent that a person scarcely knows
whether there be any providence whatever,
and a person is permitted to attribute what he does to prudence,
and what happens to him to fortune,
and even to ascribe many things to nature . . ..

AE 1155 - miracles compel

AE 1155 [4]
If a person could have been reformed by miracles and visions,
all in the whole world would have been reformed.
It is therefore a holy law of the Divine providence
that internal freedom should in no way be violated;
for by that freedom the Lord enters into a person,
even into the hell where he is,
and by it leads him while in hell,
and if he is willing to follow,
leads him out of hell and leads him into heaven,
and nearer and nearer to Himself in heaven.
In this and in no other way is a person led out of infernal freedom,
which regarded in itself is slavery, because it is from hell,
and is led into heavenly freedom, which is freedom itself,
becoming by degrees more free, and at length most free,
because it is from the Lord
who wills that a person should not be in the least compelled.
This is the way of a person's reformation,
but this way is closed by miracles and visions.

AE 1153, 1154 - building a garden, building a house

AE 1153 [6,8]
[6] A person does not perceive
the operation of the Divine providence within him,
because that would take away his freedom,
and thus his ability to think as if of himself,
and with it every delight of life . . ..
The Divine providence moves so secretly
that scarcely a trace of it is seen,
although it acts upon the most minute things of a person's thought and will,
which regard his eternal state,
chiefly for the reason that the Lord continually wills
to impress His love on man,
and through it His wisdom,
and thus create him into His image.
Consequently the operation of the Lord
is into a person's love and from that into his understanding,
and not the reverse.

It is sufficient for a person to know truths,
and by means of truths to know what is good and what is evil,
and to acknowledge the Lord and His Divine auspices
in every least thing.
Then so far as he knows truths,
and by means of them what is good and evil,
and does what is good as if from himself,
so far the Lord leads him from love into wisdom,
conjoining love to wisdom and wisdom to love,
and making them to be one, because they are one in Himself.

AE 1154 [2,3]
The operation of the Divine providence,
a person not knowing it,
may be illustrated by two comparisons.
It is like a gardener collecting the seeds of shrubs, fruit trees,
and flowers of all kinds,
and providing himself with spades, rakes,
and other tools for working the land,
and then fertilizing his garden, digging it, dividing it into beds,
putting in the seeds, and smoothing the surface.
All these things a person must do as if of himself.
But it is the Lord who causes the seeds to take root,
to spring forth out of the earth, to shoot forth into leaves,
and then into blossoms,
and finally to yield new seeds for the benefit of the gardener.
Again, it is like a person about to build a house,
who provides himself with the necessary materials,
as timber, rafters, stones, mortar, and other things.
But afterwards the Lord builds the house
from foundation to roof exactly adapted to the person,
though the person does not know it.
From this it follows,
that unless a person provides the necessary things for a garden or a house,
he will have no garden with the benefit of its fruits,
and no house and thence no habitation.

So it is with reformation.
The things that a person must provide himself with
are the knowledges of truth and good from the Word,
from the doctrine of the church, from the world, and by his own labor.
The Lord does everything else while a person is ignorant of it.
But it is to be known,
that all things necessary to planting a garden or building a house,
which, as has been said, are the knowledges of truth and good,
are nothing but the materials,
and have no life in them
until a person does them or lives according to them as if of himself.
When that is done
the Lord enters and vivifies and builds, that is, reforms.
Such a garden, or such a house is a person's understanding,
for therein is his wisdom,
which derives from love all that it is.

AE 1152 - compelling oneself

AE 1152 [2, 3]
. . . it is a law of the Divine providence
that a person himself should compel himself;
but this means that he should compel himself from evil,
and does not mean that he should compel himself to good;
for it is possible for a person to compel himself from evil,
but not to compel himself to good that in itself is good.
For when a person compels himself to good
and has not compelled himself from evil
he does good from himself
and not from the Lord,
for he compels himself to it for the sake of self,
or for the sake of the world, or for the sake of recompense, or from fear;
and such good is not in itself good,
because the person himself or the world or recompense is in it as its end,
and not the good itself, thus neither the Lord;
and it is love and not fear that makes good to be good.

. . . But when a person compels himself from evils he purifies his internal,
and when that is purified he does good from freedom
without compelling himself to do it;
for so far as a person compels himself from evil
so far he comes into heavenly freedom,
and everything good that is in itself good
is from that freedom,
and to such good
a person does not compel himself.
The appearance is
that compelling oneself from evil
and compelling oneself to good
necessarily go together,
but they do not.

a change - from third to first person plural in the AE 1148 [4] prayer

AE 1148 [4]
. . . but let them pray,

"May the Lord be with us continually,
that He may lift up and turn His face to us,
that He may teach, enlighten, and lead us,
since of ourselves we can do nothing that is good,
that He may grant us to live;
that the devil may not lead us astray
and instill evils into our hearts,
knowing that if we are not led by the Lord
the devil will lead us and breathe into us evils of every kind,
as hatred, revenge, cunning, and deceit, as a serpent instills poison;
for the devil is present stirring up and continually accusing,
and wheresoever he meets with a heart turned away from God,
he enters in, dwells there, and draws the soul down to hell.
O Lord, deliver us."

AE 1148 - a prayer

AE 1148 [4]
A person is from creation in a state to know that evil is from hell,
and that good is from the Lord,
and to perceive these in himself as if they were from himself,
and when he so perceives them
to cast the evil down to hell
and to receive the good,
with the acknowledgment that it is from the Lord.
When he does these two things
he does not appropriate evil to himself,
and does not claim merit for the good.
But I know that there are many who do not comprehend this,
and who have no desire to comprehend it,
but let them pray,

"That the Lord may be with them continually,
that He may lift up and turn His face to them,
that He may teach, enlighten, and lead them,
since of themselves they can do nothing that is good,
that He may grant to them to live;
that the devil may not lead them astray
and instill evils into their hearts,
knowing that if they are not led by the Lord
the devil will lead them and breathe into them evils of every kind,
as hatred, revenge, cunning, and deceit, as a serpent instills poison;
for the devil is present stirring up and continually accusing,
and wheresoever he meets with a heart turned away from God,
he enters in, dwells there, and draws the soul down to hell.
O Lord, deliver us."

AE 1144 - the order of life

AE 1144 [2]
A person is created to love self and the world,
to love the neighbor and heaven,
and to love the Lord.
For this reason when a person is born
he first loves himself and the world,
and afterwards, so far as he becomes wise,
he loves the neighbor and heaven,
and as he becomes still wiser
he loves the Lord.
Such a person is in the Divine order,
and is actually led by the Lord,
although apparently by himself.

AE 1142 - pairs

AE 1142
. . . everywhere in the Word there is a marriage of truth and good,
and for the reason that truth is not truth
unless it looks to good or proceeds from good,
and good is not good
unless it looks to truths or exists through truths.
Thus truths and goods are joined as in a marriage,
and truths and goods exist as from a marriage.
This is why here and elsewhere in the Word things are mentioned in pairs,
one of which signifies good and the other truth,
as "gold and silver,"
"precious stone and pearl,"
"fine linen and purple,"
"silk and scarlet,"
"vessel of ivory and vessel of precious wood,"
"brass, iron, and marble,"
where "gold, pearl, purple, scarlet, precious wood, and brass,"
signify goods of various kinds,
and "silver, precious stone, fine linen, silk, ivory, iron, and marble,"
signify truths of various kinds.

AE 1138, 1139 - union with the Lord

AE 1138 [3]
. . . without freedom
a person cannot feel and perceive
that life is as if it were in him;
it is from freedom
that he feels this and perceives this . . ..

[6] . . . to the person who acknowledges
that all things of his life are from the Lord,
the Lord gives the delight and blessedness of His love,
so far as the person acknowledges this
and performs uses.
Thus when a person
by acknowledgment and by faith from love,
as if from himself,
ascribes to the Lord all things of his life,
the Lord in turn ascribes to the person the good of His life,
which carries with it every happiness and every blessedness,
and also enables him
to feel and perceive interiorly and exquisitely
this good to be in himself
as if it were his own,
and the more exquisitely in proportion
as the person from the heart
wills that which he acknowledges by faith.
The perception is then reciprocal,
for the perception
that He is in a person and a person is in Him
is grateful to the Lord,
and the perception
that he is in the Lord and the Lord in him
is gratifying to a person.
Such is the union of the Lord with a person
and of a person with the Lord
by means of love.

AE 1139 [2]
A person has a feeling and perception that life is in him,
because the life of the Lord is in him
as the light and heat of the sun are in a subject.

Let's Rejoice with the Angels!

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;
and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said,
Behold, I make all things new.
And he said unto me,
Write: for these words are true and faithful.

And he said unto me, It is done.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
I will give unto him that is athirst
of the fountain of the water of life freely.

He that overcomes shall inherit all things;
and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
(Revelation 21:1-7)

Happy New Church Day everyone!

AE 1135 - the Divine providence

AE 1135 [4]
. . . the Divine providence proceeds so secretly
that a person can see scarcely a trace of it,
and yet it is active in the most minute particulars relating to him
from infancy to old age in the world,
and afterwards to eternity,
and in each one of these
it is the eternal that is regarded.

AE 1129 - order & freedom

AE 1129 [3]
. . . it is from order that the angelic heavens,
consisting of thousands and thousands of societies,
act as one through love to the Lord
and through love towards the neighbor,
and that they are kept in order through Divine truths
which are the laws of order.
Also it is from order
that the hells beneath the heavens,
which are also divided into thousands and thousands of congregations,
are kept in order by means of judgments and punishments,
so that they are unable to do the least harm to the heavens,
although they are hatreds and insanities.
It is also from order
that between the heavens and the hells there is an equilibrium,
in which is a person in the world,
and in which he is led to heaven if led by the Lord,
and to hell if led by himself;
for it is the law of order
that a person must do whatever he does
from freedom according to reason.

AE 1121 - mages and likenesses

AE 1121 [3]
. . . since they (people) are receptacles of life
they could not
when first created
be anything else
than images and likenesses of God;
images from the reception of truth
and likenesses from the reception of good;
for life and its recipient are fitted to each other
as the active and passive,
but do not mingle.

. . . Good and its love
and truth and its faith
are the life that is God,
for God is good itself and truth itself;
and therefore in these
God dwells in a person.

AE 1115 - thinking about the Lord

AE 1115 [5]
It has been said that to think of God as Man
has been implanted in every spirit.
That this comes through an influx of the Lord
into the interiors of their thoughts
is evident from the fact that the angels of all the heavens
acknowledge the Lord alone.
They acknowledge His Divine which is called the Father,
they see His Divine Human,
and they are in the Divine proceeding,
for the whole angelic heaven is the Lord's Divine proceeding.
An angel is not an angel from what is his own,
but from the Divine that he receives from the Lord.
From this they are in the Lord;
consequently when they think of God
they can think of no other than the Lord in whom they are
and from whom they think.
Add to this that the whole angelic heaven
in its complex before the Lord is as one Man,
which maybe called the Greatest Man;
consequently the angels in heaven are in the Man
that is the Lord's Divine proceeding, as has been said;
and since their thoughts have direction there
according to the form of heaven,
they are unable when they think of God
to think of any other than the Lord.
In a word, all the angels of the three heavens think of God as Man,
and are unable to think otherwise.
If they wished to think otherwise thought would cease,
and they would fall from heaven.
This, then, is why to every spirit and to every person,
when he is in the idea of his spirit,
it is instinctive to think of God as Man.

AE 1112 - separation

AE 1112
. . . good and truth cannot be separated,
for if they are separated
good is not good,
nor is truth truth.

AE1102, 1104 - thinking about the Lord

AE 1102
. . . the idea of thought of one God
is what primarily opens heaven to a person,
and on the other hand
the idea of three Gods closes heaven.

AE 1104 [3]
In a word, those who separate the Divine from His Human,
and do not think that the Divine is in His Human
as the soul is in the body,
and that the two are one Person,
may fall into strange ideas about the Lord,
even into an idea like that of a man separated from his soul.
Take heed, therefore,
not to think of the Lord as a man like yourself,
but think of the Lord as Man who is God.

AE 1100 - seeing truths

AE 1100 [23]
Be it known that all the truths of the Word,
which are the truths of heaven and of the church,
can be seen by the understanding,
in heaven spiritually,
in the world rationally;
for a truly human understanding is the sight itself of these truths,
for it is separated from what is material,
and when separated
it sees truths as clearly as the eye sees objects;
it sees truths as it loves them,
for as it loves them it is enlightened.