AE 294 - every good

AE 294 [2]

. . . every good into which a person is reformed
is given only through truths . . .

What a Woman from Tekoa Says to King David

"But God does not take away life;
instead, He devises ways
so that a banished person
may not remain estranged from Him."

(II Samuel 14:14)

AE 292 - the Lord conjoins truths with good

AE 292

Truths from the Word with angels and men
are in their memory;
from it the Lord calls them out
and conjoins them with good
so far as the angel or man
is in the spiritual affection of truth,
and this affection he has
when he lives according to the truths from the Word.
Conjunction is effected in the interior or spiritual man,
and from that in the exterior or natural man.
This conjunction makes the church with man
while he lives on the earth,
and afterwards makes heaven with him;
from which it is clear
that without such conjunction
no one can be saved;
also that there is no conjunction of good and truth
unless the man is living the life of love;
to live the life of love
is to do the Lord's commandments,
for to love is to do,
since what man loves
that he wills
and that he does,
but what he does not love
that he does not will
and therefore does not do.

The Ewe Lamb

The Lord sent Nathan to David.
When he came to him, he said,
"There were two men in a certain town,
one rich and the other poor.
The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,
but the poor man had nothing
except one little ewe lamb he had bought.
He raised it,
and it grew up with him and his children.
It shared his food,
drank from his cup
and even slept in his arms.
It was like a daughter to him.

"Now a traveler came to the rich man,
but the rich man refrained
from taking one of his own sheep or cattle
to prepare a meal for the traveler
who had come to him.
Instead, he took the ewe lamb
that belonged to the poor man
and prepared it for the one who had come to him."

David burned with anger against the man
and said to Nathan,
"As surely as the Lord lives,
the man who did this deserves to die!
He must pay for that lamb four times over,
because he did such a thing and had no pity.

Then Nathan said to David,
"Your are that man!"

(II Samuel 12:1-7)

AE 283, 286 - "I spread My wing over thee", the Lord's care & protection

AE 283 [7]
When I passed by thee,
and saw thee,
that behold thy time was the time of loves,
I spread My wing over thee,
and I covered thy nakedness.
(Ezekial 16:8)

Here Jerusalem is treated of,
and by it the church is meant, here its reformation;
"the time of loves" 
signifies the state when it could be reformed;
"I spread My wing over thee"
signifies spiritual truth by which reformation is effected;
"I covered thy nakedness"
signifies putting evil out of sight thereby;
for the evil that man has by heredity
and afterwards from what is his own [ex proprio]
is put out of sight, that is, so removed as not to appear,
by spiritual truths,
which are truths from good. 

AE 283 [13]
"God Shaddai"
means truth rebuking in temptations,
and afterwards consoling . . ..

AE 286
Lord God Almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come,
(Revelation 4:8)

signifies the infinite and eternal.
This is evident from the signification of "Almighty"
as being that He is the infinite,
and from the signification of
"who was, who is, and who is to come,"
as being that He is the eternal.
There are two things
that can be predicated only of Jehovah,
that is, the Lord, namely, infinity and eternity;
infinity of His esse,
which is the Divine good of His Divine love;
eternity of His existere from that esse,
which is the Divine truth of His Divine wisdom.
These two are Divine in themselves.
Out of these the universe was created;
consequently all things in the universe
are referable to good and to truth,
and good everywhere is the esse of a thing,
and truth is the existere therefrom;
but these two in all things of the universe are finite.
It is therefore here said "Lord God,"
for "Lord" signifies the Divine good of the Divine love,
and "God" the Divine truth of the Divine wisdom.

The Valley of Rephaim

When the Philistines heard
that David had been anointed king over Israel,
they went up in full force to search for him,
but David heard about it
and went down to the stronghold.
Now the Philistines had come
and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;
so David inquired of the Lord,
"Shall I go and attack the Philistines?
Will You hand them over to me?"

The Lord answered him,
"Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."

So David went to Baal Perazim,
and there he defeated them.
He said, "As waters break out,
the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me."
So that place was called Baal Perazim,
The Philistines abandoned their idols there,
and David and his men carried them off.

Once more the Philistines came up
and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;
so David inquired of the Lord,
and He answered,
"Do not go straight up,
but circle around behind them
and attack them in front of the balsam trees.
As soon as you hear the sound of marching
in the tops of the balsam trees,
move quickly, because that will mean
the Lord has gone out in front of you
to strike the Philistine army."
So David did as the Lord commanded him,
and he struck down the Philistines
all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

(II Samuel 5:17-25)

AE 281 - eagles

AE 281

And the fourth animal was like a flying eagle,
(Revelation 4:7)

signifies the appearance in ultimates
of the Divine guard and providence in respect to intelligence
and as to circumspection on every side.
This is evident from the signification of "eagle,"
as being intelligence;
here Divine intelligence
which is that of the Lord's guard and providence.
"Eagle" means intelligence
because intelligence is in the light of heaven,
and the eagle flies high
that he may be there and may look about on every side;
this is why this face of the cherub
appeared "like a flying eagle;"
for "to fly" signifies presence and clear vision or every side,
and in reference to the Divine it signifies omnipresence.

David's Lament

David took up this lament
concerning Saul and his son Jonathan,
and ordered that the men of Judah
be taught this lament of the bow . . .

"Saul and Jonathan -
in life there were loved and gracious,
and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions."

(II Samuel 1:17, 23)

From AE 281 [7]

"Saul" as a king, and "Jonathan" as a king's son,
signify the truth of the church;
and because intelligence is from truth, and also power,
it is said that they were
"swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions;"
"swiftness" in the Word, in reference to intelligence,
signifying the affection of truth.
For David wrote his lamentation over Saul and Jonathan
"to teach the sons of Judah the bow;"
and "the sons of Judah" signify the truths of the church,
and the "bow" means
the doctrine of truth combating against falsities. 

AE 280- a face like a man

AE 280

And the third animal had a face like a man,
(Revelation 4:7)

signifies the appearance in ultimates
of the Divine guard and providence in respect to wisdom.
This is evident from the signification of "the face of a man,"
as being the affection of truth,
"face" signifying affection,
and "man" the recipient of Divine truth;
and because man's rational is from this,
"man" signifies wisdom;
for man was created that he might be rational and wise;
by this he is distinguished from the brute animals;
for this reason "man" in the Word signifies wisdom.

"Man" signifies both the affection of truth and wisdom,
because the affection of truth and wisdom act as one;
for he who is in the spiritual affection of truth,
that is, who is affected by truth,
or who loves truth because it is truth,
is conjoined to the Lord,
since the Lord is in His own truths,
and is His truth with man;
from this man has wisdom,
and from this it is that man is a man.

Abigail

One of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail:
"David sent messengers from the desert
to give our master his greetings,
but he hurled insults at them.
Yet these men were very good to us.
They did not mistreat us,
and the whole time we were out in the fields near them
nothing was missing.
Night and day they were a wall around us
all the time we were herding our sheep near them.
Now think it over and see what you can do,
because disaster is hanging over our master
and his whole household.
He is such a wicked man
that no one can talk to him.

Abigail lost no time.
She took two hundred loaves of bread,
two skins of wine,
five dressed sheep,
five seahs of roasted grain,
a hundred cakes of pressed figs,
and loaded them on donkeys.
Then she told her servants,
"Go on ahead; I'll follow you."
But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

. . . When Abigail saw David,
she quickly got off her donkey
and bowed down before David with her face to the ground.
She fell at his feet and said:
"My lord, let the blame be on me alone.
Please let your servant speak to you;
hear what your servant has to say.
May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal.
He is just like his name - his name is Fool,
and folly goes with him.
But as for me, your servant,
I did not see the men my master sent."

. . . Then David accepted from her hand
what she had brought him and said,
"Go home in peace.
I have heard your words and granted your request."

When Abigail went to Nabal,
he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king.
He was in high spirits and very drunk.
So she told him nothing until daybreak.
Then in the morning,
when Nabal was sober,
his wife told him all these things,
and his heart failed him
and he became like a stone.
About ten days later,
the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said,
"Praise be to the Lord,
who has upheld my cause against Nabal
for treating me with contempt.
He has kept his servant from doing wrong
and has brought Nabal's wrongdoing
down on his own head."

Then David sent word to Abigail,
asking her to become his wife.

(I Samuel 25:14-20, 23-25, 35-40)

AE 276, 278 - the four animals

AE 276
And in the midst of the throne
and around the throne were four animals,
full of eyes before and behind.
And the first animal was like a lion,
and the second animal like a calf,
and the third animal had a face like a man,
and the fourth animal was like a flying eagle.
And the four animals, each by itself
had six wings round about,
and they were full of eyes within,
and they had no rest day and night, saying,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come.
(Revelation 4:6b, 7, 8)

"And in the midst of the throne
and around the throne were four animals,
full of eyes before and behind,"
-- signifies the Lord's guard and providence
that the interior heavens be not approached
except by the good of love and charity,
that lower things depending thereon may be in order. "
And the first animal was like a lion,"
-- signifies the appearance, in ultimates
of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord
 in respect to power and efficiency;
"and the second animal like a calf,"
-- signifies the appearance, in ultimates,
of Divine good in respect to protection;
"and the third animal had a face like a man,"
-- signifies the appearance, in ultimates,
of the Divine guard and providence in respect to wisdom;
"and the fourth animal was like a flying eagle,"
-- signifies the appearance, in ultimates,
of the Divine guard and providence
in respect to intelligence
and as to circumspection on every side.
"And the four animals, each by itself,
had six wings round about,"
-- signifies the appearance of the spiritual Divine
on all sides about the celestial Divine;
"and full of eyes within,"
-- signifies the Divine Providence and guard;
"and they had no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy,"
-- signifies that which is most holy
proceeding from the Lord;
"Lord God Almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come,"
-- signifies the infinite and eternal.

AE 278
Since it is the Lord who guards and provides,
and this through Divine truth and Divine good,
thus through His Divine wisdom and intelligence,
four animals were seen,
which were like a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle;
for thus by "lion"
Divine truth in respect to power was represented,
by "calf"
Divine good in respect to protection,
by "man"
the Divine wisdom,
and by "eagle"
the Divine intelligence;
which four things
are included in the Lord's Divine Providence
in its guarding the higher heavens,
that they be not approached
except from the good of love and charity.

David Saves Keilah

When David was told,
"Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah
and are looting the threshing floors,"
he inquired of the Lord, saying,
"Shall I go and attack these Philistines?"

The Lord answered him,
"Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah."

But David's men said to him,
"Here in Judah we are afraid.
How much more, then,
if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!"

Once again David inquired of the Lord,
and the Lord answered him,
"Go down to Keilah,
for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand."
So David and his men went to Keilah,
fought the Philistines
and carried off their livestock.
He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines
and saved the people of Keilah.
(Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech
had brought the ephod down with him
when he fled to David at Keilah.)

(I Samuel 23:1-6)

AE 274 - His Lamp

AE 274 [2]

Thy Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.
(Psalm 119:105)

The Word is called a "lamp" because it is Divine truth.

You make my lamp to shine;
Jehovah God makes bright my darkness.
(Psalm 18:28)

"To make a lamp to shine"
signifies to enlighten the understanding
by Divine truth;
and "to make bright the darkness"
signifies to disperse the falsities of ignorance
by the light of truth.

Samuel Mourns

Then Samuel left for Ramah,
but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.
Until the day Samuel died,
he did not go to see Saul again,
though Samuel mourned for him.
And the Lord was grieved
that He had made Saul king over Israel.

The Lord said to Samuel,
"How long will you mourn for Saul,
since I have rejected him as king over Israel?
Fill your horn with oil and be on your way;
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem.
I have chosen one of his sons to be king."

(I Samuel 15:34; 16:1)

AE 270 - significations and what makes the person

AE 270 [2]

. . . in the spiritual sense of the Word
no persons are perceived,
but things abstractly from persons,
for what is spiritual has nothing in common with persons.
It is otherwise in the sense of the letter of the Word,
which is natural;
in that sense not only are persons mentioned,
but the idea of person is implied in many expressions,
in order that the Word in its ultimates may be natural,
and thus be a basis for the spiritual sense.
It is the same with the signification of "elders"
as with that of "infants," "children,"
"young men," "old men," "virgins," "women,"
and many words of that kind;
in the natural sense
these are all thought of simply as persons;
but in the spiritual sense
"infants" mean innocence,
"children" charity,
"young men" intelligence,
"old men" wisdom,
"virgins" the affection of truth and good,
and "women" the goods of the church;
and so in other cases. 
The same is true
of the natural and spiritual senses of "neighbor;"
in the natural sense
"neighbor" means any man whatever;
but in the spiritual sense
the good, truth, sincerity, and justice itself
that are in the person.
Everyone who reflects can see
that this is the neighbor in the spiritual sense;
for who loves a person for any other reason?
For good and truth make the man,
and cause him to be loved,
and not the countenance and body.

Jonathan Tastes Honey

Now the men of Israel were in distress that day,
because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying,
"Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes,
before I have avenged myself on my enemies!"
So none of the troops tasted food.

The entire army entered the woods,
and there was honey on the ground.
When they went into the woods,
they saw the honey oozing out,
yet no one put his hand to his mouth,
because they feared the oath.
But Jonathan had not heard
that his father had bound the people with the oath,
so he reached out
the end of the staff that was in his hand
and dipped it into the honeycomb.
He raised his hand to his mouth,
and his eyes brightened.
Then one of the soldiers told him,
"Your father bound the army under a strict oath, saying,
'Cursed be any man who eats food today!'
that is why the men are faint."

Jonathan said,
"My father has made trouble for the country.
So how my eyes brightened
when I tasted a little of this honey.
How much better it would have been
if the men had eaten today
some of the plunder they took from their enemies.
Would not the slaughter of the Philistines
have been even greater?

. . . Then Saul said to Jonathan,
"Tell me what you have done."

So Jonathan told him,
"I merely tasted a little honey with the end of my staff.
And now must I die?"

Saul said, "May God deal with me,
be it ever so severely if you do not die, Jonathan."

But the men said to Saul,
"Should Jonathan die - he who has brought about
this great deliverance in Israel? 
Never!
As surely as the Lord lives,
not a hair of his head will fall to the ground,
for he did this today with God's help."
So the men rescued Jonathan,
and he was not put to death.

(I Samuel 14:24-30, 43-45)

AE 260 - what the understanding sees, what the eyes see

AE 260

. . . as the understanding sees spiritual things,
so the sight of the eye sees natural things.
Spiritual things are truths from good,
and natural things are objects in various forms.
Truths from good,
which are spiritual things,
are seen in heaven as distinctly as objects before the eye,
yet with much difference;
for these truths are seen intellectually,
that is, they are perceived;
and the nature of this sight or perception
cannot be described by human words . . .

AE 263
. . . when the mind is elevated,
attention is awakened.

Israel Asks for a King

When Samuel grew old,
he appointed his sons as judges for Israel.
The name of his firstborn was Joel
and the name of the second was Abijah,
and they served at Beersheba.
But his sons did not walk in his ways.
They turned aside after dishonest gain
and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

So all the elders of Israel gathered together
and came to Samuel at Ramah.
They said to him, "You are old,
and your sons do not walk in your ways;
now appoint a king to lead us,
such as all the other nations have."

But when they said,
"Give us a king to lead us,"
this displeased Samuel;
so he prayed to the Lord.
And the Lord told him:
"Listen to all that the people are saying to you;
it is not you they have rejected,
but they have rejected Me a their king."

(I Samuel 8:1-7)

AE 256, 258 - temptation, change

AE 256
. . . doctrine cannot be implanted in the life
and come to be of faith
unless man combats against the evils and falsities
which he has by heredity . . ..

AE 258
Be it known,
that before any change takes place
all things must be prearranged and prepared
for the coming event;
for all things are foreseen by the Lord,
and disposed and provided for
according to what is foreseen.

From Hannah's Prayer

"There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides You;
there is no Rock like our God.

"For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's;
upon them He has set the world.
He will guard the feet of His saints,
but the wicked will be silenced in darkness."

(I Samuel 2:2,8-9)