NJHD 187, 190, 195 - Temptations

NJHD 187, 190, 195

Those only who are being regenerated,
undergo spiritual temptations;
for spiritual temptations
are pains of mind induced by evil spirits,
with those who are in goods and truths.
While those spirits excite the evils which are with them,
there arises the anxiety of temptation.
Man does not know where this anxiety comes from,
because he does not know its origin.

In temptations, the dominion of good over evil,
or of evil over good, is contended for.
Evil which wills to have dominion,
is in the natural or external man,
and good is in the spiritual or internal man.
If evil conquers, the natural man has dominion;
if good conquers, the spiritual has dominion.

The Lord alone combats for man in temptations.
If man does not believe
that the Lord alone combats and conquers for him,
he undergoes only external temptation;
which is not serviceable to him.
 

~ All Will Know the Lord ~

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the Lord.
"I will put My law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be My people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,'
because they will all know Me,
from the least of them to the greatest,"
declares the Lord.
"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."

(Jeremiah 31:33-35)

NJHD 183, 185 - More on Regeneration

NJHD 183

Man's natural life is contrary to spiritual life.
The good which he does from himself or from proprium,
is not good,
because he does it for the sake of self, and the world.
Man's proprium must be removed
so that the Lord and heaven may be able to be present.
It is actually removed when he is regenerated by the Lord.
Therefore he must be created anew, that is, regenerated.
"Creating" man, in the Word, signifies to regenerate him.

Man is conjoined to the Lord by regeneration.
And consociated with angels in heaven.
He does not come into heaven,
until he is in a state to be led by the Lord
by means of good,
which is the case when he is regenerated.

NJHD 186

The arcana or regeneration are innumerable,
since regeneration continues
during the whole life of a person.

 

~ Weeping and Tears ~

This is what the Lord says:

"Restrain your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for your work will be rewarded,"
declares the Lord.

(Jeremiah 31:16)

NJHD - 174, 176-177 - Natural Life, Spiritual Life, Regeneration

NJHD 174, 176-177

Man is not born of his parents into spiritual life,
but into natural life.
Spiritual life consists in loving God above all things,
and in loving his neighbor as himself,
and this according to the precepts of faith,
which the Lord has taught in the Word.
But natural life consists
in loving ourselves and the world
more than the neighbor,
indeed, more than God Himself.

Man continually inclines to, and lapses into,
what he derives from heredity:
consequently he confirms with himself that evil,
and also superadds more from himself.
These evils are altogether contrary to spiritual life;
they destroy it;
wherefore, unless man receives new life,
which is spiritual life,
from the Lord, thus
unless he is conceived anew, is born anew,
is educated anew, that is, is created anew,
he is damned;
for he wills nothing else,
and so thinks nothing else,
but what is of self and the world,
in like manner as they do in hell.

No man can be regenerated
unless he knows such things
as are of the new life, that is, of spiritual life.
The things which are of the new life,
or which are of the spiritual life,
are truths which are to be believed
and goods which are to be done;
the former are of faith, the latter of charity.
These things no one can know from himself,
for man apprehends only those things
which are obvious to the senses,
which he procures to himself
a light which is called natural light,
from which he sees nothing else
than what relates to the world and to self,
but not the things which relate to heaven and to God.
These he must learn from revelation.
As that the Lord, who is God from eternity,
came into the world to save the human race;
that He has all power in heaven and in earth;
that the all of faith and the all of charity,
thus all truth and good, is from Him;
that there is a heaven, and a hell;
and that man is to live to eternity,
in heaven if he has done well,
in hell if he has done evil.

~ Be Patient ~

This is what the Lord says:
"When seventy years are completed for Babylon,
I will come to you
and fulfill My gracious promise
to bring you back to this place.
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.
Then you will call upon Me
and come and pray to Me,
and I will listen to you.
You will seek Me and find Me
when you seek Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you," declares the Lord . . ..

(Jeremiah 29:10-14.5)
 

NJHD 171 - Falsities

NJHD 171

The good which has its quality from falsity
is accepted by the Lord,
if there is ignorance,
and therein is innocence and a good end.

 

~ Yokes of Wood and Yokes of Iron ~

Shortly after the prophet Hananiah
had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah,
the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
"Go and tell Hananiah,
'This is what the Lord says:
You have broken a wooden yoke,
but in its place you will get a yoke of iron.
This is what the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel, says:
I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations
to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
and they will serve him.
I will even give him control over the wild animals.'"

(Jeremiah 28:12-14)
 

NJHD 159-161, 163 - Repentance and the Remission of Sins

NJHD 159 - 161, 163

He who would be saved must confess his sins,
and do the work of repentance.

To confess sins, is to know evils,
to see them in one's self,
to acknowledge them,
to make himself guilty,
and to condemn himself on account of them.
When this is done before God,
it is the confession of sins.

To do the work of repentance,
is to desist from sins after he has thus confessed them,
and from a humble heart
has made supplication for remission,
and to live a new life
according to the precepts of charity and faith.

He who lives the life of charity and faith
does the work of repentance daily;
he reflects upon the evils which are with him,
he acknowledges them,
he guards against them,
he supplicates the Lord for help.
For man of himself continually lapses,
but he is continually raised by the Lord,
and led to good.
Such is the state of those who are in good.

 

~ Jeremiah Speaks to the Priests, the Prophets, the People ~

The priests, the prophets and all the people
heard Jeremiah speak these words
in the house of the Lord.
But as soon as Jeremiah finished
telling all the people everything
the Lord had commanded him to say,
the priests, the prophets and all the people
seized him and said, "You must die!
Why do you prophesy in the Lord's name
that this house will be like Shiloh
and this city will be desolate and deserted?"
And all the people crowded around Jeremiah
in the house of the Lord.

When the officials of Judah heard about these things,
they went up from the royal palace
to the house of the Lord
and took their places at the entrance
of the New Gate of the Lord's house.
then the priests and prophets
said to the officials and all the people,
"This man should be sentenced to death
because he has prophesied against this city.
You have heard it with your own ears!"

Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and the people:
"The Lord sent me to prophesy
against this house and this city
all the things you have heard.
Now reform your ways and your actions
and obey the Lord your God.
Then the Lord will relent
and not bring the disaster He has pronounced against you.
As for me, I am in your hands;
do with me whatever you think is good and right.
Be assured, however, that if you put me to death,
you will bring the guilt of innocent blood
on yourselves and on this city
and on those who live in it,
for in truth the Lord has sent me to you
to speak all these words in your hearing."

Then the officials and all the people
said to the priest and prophets,
"This man should not be sentenced to death!
He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.

(Jeremiah 26:7-16)
 

NJHD 150, 155-156 - Merit

NJHD 150

Those who do good that they may merit,
do not do good from the love of good,
but from the love of reward,
for he who wills to merit,
wills to be rewarded;
they who do so,
regard and place their delight in the reward,
and not in good;
wherefore they are not spiritual, but natural.

NJHD 155-156

The merit of the Lord consists in this,
that from his own power He has saved the human race,
and also, that He saves those who do good from Him.
Hence it is that in the Word,
he is called "just"
to whom the merit and justice of the Lord are ascribed,
and he is called "unjust"
to whom are ascribed his own justice and the merit of self.

The delight itself,
which is in the love of doing good
without an end to reward,
is a reward which remains to eternity,
for heaven and eternal happiness
are insinuated into that good by the Lord. 

 

~ The Lord Questions and Declares ~

"Am I only a God nearby," declares the Lord,
"And not a God far away?
Can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him?" declares the Lord.
"Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the Lord.

"Is not My word like fire," declares the Lord,
"and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?"

(Jeremiah 23:23-24, 29)
 

NJHD 141, 144, 147 - Freedom

NJHD 141, 144, 147

All freedom is of love,
for what man loves,
this he does freely;
so also all freedom is of the will,
for what man loves, this he also wills;
and because love and the will make the life of man,
so also does freedom. 

The freedom of doing good,
and the freedom of doing evil,
though they appear alike in the external form,
are as different and distant from each other
as heaven and hell are:
the freedom of doing good also is from heaven,
and is called heavenly freedom;
but the freedom of doing evil is from hell,
and is called infernal freedom;
so far, also, as man is in the one,
so far he is not in the other,
for no one can serve two lords (Matt. 6:24).

Man is kept by the Lord between heaven and hell,
and thus in equilibrium,
that he may be in freedom for the sake of reformation.
What is inseminated in freedom remains,
but not what is inseminated in compulsion.
Therefore freedom is never taken away from anyone.
No one is compelled by the Lord.
. . . the Lord leads man by means of freedom into good;
by means of freedom he turns him from evil,
and bends him to good,
so gently and tacitly
that the man knows no other
than that all proceeds from himself.

~ The Days Are Coming ~

"The days are coming," declares the Lord,
"When I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
In His days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which He will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness."

(Jeremiah 23:5-6)
 

NJHD 131, 134 - Conscience

NJHD 131, 134

Conscience, with the man of the church,
is formed by the truths of faith from the Word,
or from doctrine out of the Word,
according to their reception in the heart;
for when man knows the truths of faith,
and comprehends them in his own manner,
and then wills them and does them,
he then acquires conscience.
Reception in the heart is reception in the will,
for the will of man is what is called the heart.
Hence it is that they who have conscience,
speak from the heart the things which they speak,
and do from the heart the things which they do.
They have also an undivided mind,
for they act according to that which they understand
and believe to be true and good.

Man has a conscience of what is good,
and a conscience of what is just.
The conscience of what is good
is the conscience of the internal man,
and the conscience of what is just
is the conscience of the external man.
The conscience of what is good consists
in acting according to the precepts of faith
from internal affection;
but the conscience of what is just
consists in acting according to civil and moral laws
from external affection.
Those who have the conscience of what is good,
have also the conscience of what is just;
but they who have only the conscience of what is just,
are in a faculty of receiving the conscience of what is good;
and they also do receive it when they are instructed.
  

~ Again the Lord Says ~

This is what the Lord says:
Do what is just and right.
Rescue from the hand of his oppressor
the one who has been robbed.
Do no wrong or violence to the alien,
the fatherless or the widow,
and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
For if you are careful to carry out these commands,
then kings who sit on David's throne
will come through the gates of this palace,
riding in chariots and on horses,
accompanied by their officials and their people.
But if you do not obey these commands,
declares the Lord,
I swear by Myself
that this palace will become a ruin.'"

(Jeremiah 22:3-5)

NJHD 126 - Renouncing the World

NJHD 126

. . . it is believed by many,
that to renounce the world,
and to live in the spirit and not in the flesh,
is to reject worldly things,
which are chiefly riches and honors;
to be continually engaged in pious meditation
concerning God,
concerning salvation,
and concerning eternal life;
to lead a life in prayers,
in the reading of the Word and pious books;
and also to afflict one's self:
but this is not renouncing the world;
but to renounce the world
is to love God and to love the neighbor;
and God is loved
when man lives according to His commandments,
and the neighbor is loved when man performs uses.
Therefore
in order that man may receive the life of heaven,
it is altogether necessary that he should live in the world,
and in offices and business there. 

 

~ Jeremiah Continues to Warn ~

Jeremiah then returned from Topheth,
where the Lord had sent him to prophesy,
and stood in the court of the Lord's temple
and said to all the people,
"This is what the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel, says:
'Listen!  I am going to bring on this city
and the villages around it
every disaster I pronounced against them,
because they were stiff-necked
and would not listen to My words.'"

(Jeremiah 19:14-15)

NJHD 121 - Charity and Faith Cohere and Conjoin

NJHD 121

The truths of faith, when man is regenerated,
enter with the delight of affection,
because he loves to do them,
and they are reproduced with the same affection,
because they cohere.

Those who live in love to the Lord,
and in charity towards the neighbor,
lose nothing to eternity,
because they are conjoined to the Lord . . ..

All the states of delight
of those who have lived in charity,
return in the other life,
and are increased immensely.
 
No one is admitted into heaven by thinking,
but by willing good.

Unless doing good is conjoined
with willing good and with thinking good,
there is no salvation,
neither any conjunction
of the internal man with the external.
    
Good is in the perpetual desire
and consequent endeavor
of conjoining itself with truths,
and charity with faith. 

~ This Is What the Lord Says ~

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in Him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

"I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind,
to reward a man according to his conduct,
according to what his deeds deserve."

(Jeremiah 17:7-8, 10)
 

NJHD 108, 114 - Faith

NJHD 108, 114

No one can know what faith is in its essence,
unless he knows what charity is,
because where there is no charity there is no faith,
for charity makes one with faith as good does with truth.
For what man loves or holds dear,
this to him is good,
and what man believes,
this to him is truth . . ..

An idea concerning the good which is of charity,
and concerning the truth which is of faith,
may be formed from the light and heat of the sun.
When the light which proceeds from the sun
is conjoined to heat,
as is the case in the time of spring and summer,
then all things of the earth germinate and flourish;
but when there is no heat in the light,
as in the time of winter,
then all things of the earth become torpid and die;
also spiritual light is the truth of faith,
and spiritual heat is love.

~ If You Repent ~

Therefore this is what the Lord says:

"If you repent,
I will restore you that you may serve Me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be My spokesman.
Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
I will make you a wall to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
but will not overcome you,
for I am with you to rescue and save you,"
declares the Lord.
"I will save you from the hands of the wicked
 and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel."

(Jeremiah 15:19-21)

NJHD 106 - Charity

NJHD 106

. . . the Divine of the Lord in the heavens
is love to Him,
and charity towards the neighbor.
    
It cannot be known what good is and what truth is,
unless it be known what
love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor are,
because all good is of love,
and all truth is of good.

To know truths,
to will truths,
and to be affected with them for the sake of truths,
that is, because they are truths,
is charity.

Charity consists in an internal affection of doing truth,
and not in an external affection without an internal one.
Thus charity consists in performing uses
for the sake of uses. 

~ Our Hope Is In Him ~

O Lord, we acknowledge our wickedness
and the guilt of our fathers;
we have indeed sinned against You.
For the sake of Your name
do not despise us;
do not dishonor Your glorious throne.
Remember Your covenant with us
and do not break it.
Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is You, O Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in You,
for You are the one who does all this.

(Jeremiah 14:20-22)

NJHD 96 - Our Neighbor, Our Country

NJHD 93

Our country is the neighbor more than a society,
because it is like a parent;
for a man is born therein,
and it nourishes and protects him from injuries.
Good is to be done to our country
from love according to its necessities,
which principally regard its sustenance,
and the civil and spiritual life of those therein.
He who loves his country,
and does good to it from good will,
in the other life loves the Lord's kingdom,
for there the Lord's kingdom is his country,
and he who loves the Lord's kingdom loves the Lord,
because the Lord is the all in all things of His kingdom. 

~ Hear and Pay Attention ~

Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken.
Give glory to the Lord your God
before He brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble on the darkening hills.
You will hope for light,
but He will turn it to thick darkness
and change it to deep gloom.
But if you do not listen,
I will weep in secret because of your pride . . ..

(Jeremiah 13:15-17)

NJHD 86, 89 - The Neighbor

NJHD 86, 89

The distinctions of neighbor,
which the man of the church ought altogether to know,
are according to the good which is with everyone;
and because all good proceeds from the Lord,
therefore the Lord is the neighbor
in the highest sense and in a supereminent degree,
and the origin is from Him.
Hence it follows
that so far as anyone has the Lord with himself,
so far he is the neighbor . . ..

. . . every one is the neighbor
according to the good which he possesses from the Lord,
thus good itself is the neighbor.

 

~ His Power ~

But God made the earth by His power;
He founded the world by His wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
When He thunders,
the waters in the heavens roar;
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from His storehouses.

(Jeremiah 10:12-13)

NJHD 72 - To Serve Others

NJHD 72

To serve others is to do good to them from good will,
and to perform uses.

~ Kindness, Justice and Righteousness ~

This is what the Lord says:

"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understand and knows Me,
that I am the Lord,
who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the Lord.

(Jeremiah 9:23-24)

NJHD 58 - Our Ruling Love

NJHD 58

All the delight, pleasure, and happiness which anyone has,
are derived from his ruling love,
and are according to it;
for that which man loves,
he calls delightful,
because he feels it to be so:
he may, indeed, also call that delightful 
which he thinks but does not love;
but this is not the delight of his life.
The delight of love is what he esteems good;
and that which is undelightful is to him evil.
 
 

~ Change Your Ways ~

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
Reform your ways and your actions,
and I will let you live in this place.
Do not trust in deceptive words and say,
"This is the temple of the Lord,
the temple of the Lord,
the temple of the Lord!"
If you really change your ways and your actions
and deal with each other justly,
if you do not oppress the alien,
the fatherless or the widow
and do not shed innocent blood in this place,
and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm,
then I will let you live in this place,
in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever.
But look, you are trusting in deceptive words
that are worthless."

(Jeremiah 7:3-8)

NJHD 51 - Becoming Wise or Becoming Insane

NJHD 51

Many of the learned are more insane in spiritual things,
than the simple,
because they are in the negative,
and have abundance of scientifics,
by which they confirm the negative.

There are scientifics which admit Divine truths,
and others which do not.
Vain scientifics ought to be destroyed.
Those are vain scientifics which
regard for their end and confirm
the loves of self and the world,
and which withdraw from
love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor
because such scientifics shut up the internal man,
so that he is not then capable
of receiving anything from heaven.

Scientifics are the means of becoming wise,
and the means of becoming insane;
and by them the internal man is either opened or shut;
and thus the rational is either cultivated or destroyed.

 

~ Look - Ask ~

"From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.
They dress the wound of My people
as though it were not serious.
'Peace, peace,' they say,
when there is no peace.
Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish them,"
says the Lord.

This is what the Lord says:

"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is,
and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls."

(Jeremiah 6:13-16)

NJHD 49 - The Great Internal Light

NJHD 49

The light of heaven enlightens the understanding of man.
Man, when he is elevated from the sensual,
comes into a milder light,
and at length into celestial light.
There is elevation into the light of heaven
when man comes into intelligence.
What great light was perceived,
when I have been withdrawn from worldly ideas.
The sight of the internal man is in the light of heaven,
and therefore man is able to think analytically and rationally.
The light of heaven from the Lord
is always present with man,
but it flows in only so far as he is in truths from good.
That light is according to truth from good.
Truths shine in the spiritual world.
Spiritual heat and spiritual light make the true life of man. 

~ Is There One in Jerusalem? ~

"Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem,
look around and consider,
search through her squares.
If you can find but one person
who deals honestly and seeks the truth,
I will forgive this city."

(Jeremiah 5:1)

NJHD 47 - Peace and Turbulence

NJHD 47

The Lord from the internal,
where there is peace,
governs the external,
where there is turbulence.

 

~ "I Will Not Be Angry Forever" ~

"'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the Lord,
'I will frown on you no longer,
for I am merciful,' declares the Lord,
'I will not be angry forever.
Only acknowledge your guilt --
you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods
under every spreading tree,
and have not obeyed Me,'" declares the Lord.

"Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart,
who will lead you with knowledge and understanding."

(Jeremiah 3:12-13, 15)

NJHD 36, 40 - The Internal and External Man

NJHD 36, 40

Man is so created as to be in the spiritual world
and in the natural world at the same time.
The spiritual world is where the angels are,
and the natural world where men are.
As man is so created,
there has been given to him an internal and an external;
an internal by which he is in the spiritual world,
and an external by which he is in the natural world.
His internal is what is called the internal man,
and his external is what is called the external man.

The internal spiritual man, regarded in himself,
is an angel of heaven;
and, also, during his life in the body,
is in society with angels,
although he does not then know it;
and after his separation from the body,
he comes among the angels.
But the merely natural internal man,
regarded in himself, is a spirit, and not an angel;
and, also, during his life in the body,
is in society with spirits,
but with those who are in hell,
among whom he also comes
after his separation from the body. 

 

~ The Lord Asks ~

"Does a maiden forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet My people have forgotten Me,
days without number."

(Jeremiah 2:32)

NJHD - Will, Understanding, Mind

NJHD 28

Man has two faculties which make his life;
one is called the Will,
and the other the Understanding.
These faculties are distinct from each other,
but are so created that they may be one;
and when they are one they are called the Mind.
Of these, then, the human mind consists;
and the whole life of man is there.
 
 

~ The Lord Calls Jeremiah ~

The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah,
one of the priests of Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.
The word of the Lord came to him
in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah
son of Amon king of Judah,
and through the reign of Jehoiakim
son of Josiah king of Judah,
down to the fifth month of the eleventh year
of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah,
when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

The word of the Lord came to me saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

"Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said.
"I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."

But the Lord said to me,
"Do not say, 'I am only a child.'
You must go to everyone I send you to
and say whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you and will rescue you,"
declares the Lord.

Then the Lord reached out His hand
and touched my mouth and said to me,
"Now, I have put My words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and overthrow,
to build and to plant."

(Jeremiah 1:1-10)

Sorry not to post yesterday. Weather took out the internet.

NJHD 22, 23, 24 - Truth and Good - Apart and Together

NJHD 22

Truth without good is morose.
In the spiritual world it appears hard and pointed.
Truth without good is as the light of winter,
in which all things of the earth are torpid,
and nothing is produced;
but truth from good is as the light of spring and summer,
in which all things flourish and are produced.

NJHD 23

. . . truth becomes good,
when it becomes of the love or will,
or when a person loves and wills it.

. . . every good has its own truth,
and every truth its own good,
because good without truth does not exist,
and truth without good is not.

NJHD 24

Truth from good is truth in will and act.

 

~ New Heavens and a New Earth ~

"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in My people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.

"Never again will there be in it an infant who lives
but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
he who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere youth;
he who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.
They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of the tree,
so will be the days of My people;
My chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
they will not toil in vain
or bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,
they and their descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
but dust will be the serpent's food.
The will neither harm nor destroy
on all My holy mountain," says the Lord.

(Isaiah 65:17-25)
 

NJHD 21 - Goods and Evils

NJHD 21

Evil is heavy,
and has in itself a tendency to fall into hell . . ..

Good cannot flow into truths so long as man is in evil.
Goods and truths are removed from man
in the same proportion as he is in evil,
and thereby in falsities.
The greatest care is taken by the Lord
lest truth be conjoined to evil,
and the falsity of evil to good.
Profanation arises from such mixture.

 

~ I Will Tell ~

I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord,
the deeds for which He is to be praised,
according to all the Lord has done for us --
yes, the many good things He has done . . ..

(Isaiah 63:7)

NJHD 13 - Good and Truth and Divine Order

NJHD 13

It is according to Divine order
that good and truth should be conjoined,
and not separated; thus,
that they should be one, and not two;
for they proceed in conjunction from the Divine,
and are conjoined in heaven,
and therefore they should be conjoined in the church.
The conjunction of good and truth is called, in heaven,
the heavenly marriage,
for all there are in this marriage.
Hence it is that in the Word
heaven is compared to a marriage,
and that the Lord is called the Bridegroom and Husband,
but heaven, and also the church,
are called the Bride and Wife.
That heaven and the church are so called,
is because they who are therein
receive Divine good in truths.
 
 

~ I Delight Greatly in the Lord ~

I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord
will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.

(Isaiah 61:10-11)

NJHD 8 - The Church and the Word

NJHD 8

. . . where the church exists
the Lord is adored
and the Word is read . . ..

~ Surely ~

Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor His ear to dull to hear.

(Isaiah 59:1)

NJHD 6 - "Jerusalem", "Bride", "Wife"

NJHD 6

"Jerusalem," (signifies) the church as to doctrine;
which is said "to descend from God out of heaven,"
because all Divine truth,
from which doctrine is derived,
descends out of heaven from the Lord.

Come, I will show thee the Bride, the Lamb's Wife:
and he showed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem.
(Revelation 21: 9, 10). 

The church is called in the Word
"the Bride" and "the Wife" of the Lord;
she is called "the Bride" before conjunction,
and "the Wife" after conjunction.
  

~ The Sabbath, a Delight ~

"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on My holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the Lord . . ."

(Isaiah 58:13-14.5)

HH 584 - Light of Heaven, Darkness of Hell; HH 602 - Soul, Spirit, Earthly Body

HH 584

. . . a person comes into the light of heaven
just to the extent that he acknowledges the Divine,
and establishes in himself
the things of heaven and the church;
and that he comes into the thick darkness of hell
just to the extent that he denies the Divine,
and establishes in himself what is contrary
to the truths of heaven and the church.

HH 602

. . . the soul is nothing but the life of a person,
while the spirit is the person himself;
and the earthly body
which he carries about with him in the world
is merely an agent whereby the spirit,
which is the person himself,
is enabled to act fitly in the natural world.

 

~ Let Him Turn to the Lord ~

"Seek the Lord while He may be found;
call on Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake His way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the Lord,
and He will have mercy on him,
and and to our God,
for He will freely pardon.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than Your ways
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower
and bread for the eater,
so is My word that goes out from My mouth:
It will not return to Me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord's renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed."

(Isaiah 55:6-13)

HH 577, 581 - The Protection of the Lord

HH 577 [3]

. . . if a person was not protected by the Lord
he could never be rescued from hell;
for with every man there are spirits from hell
as well as angels from heaven;
and yet the Lord cannot protect a person
unless he acknowledges the Divine
and lives a life of faith and charity;
for otherwise man turns himself away from the Lord
and turns himself to infernal spirits,
and thus his spirit
becomes saturated with a malice like theirs.

HH 581

The Lord permits torments in the hells
because in no other way
can evils be restrained and subdued.
The only means of restraining and subduing evils
and of keeping the infernal crew in bonds
is the fear of punishment.
It can be done in no other way;
for without the fear of punishment and torment
evil would burst forth into madness,
and everything would go to pieces,
like a kingdom on earth
where there is no law and there are no penalties.

~ The Heritage of the Children of the Lord ~

"To Me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah
would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor My covenant of peace be removed,"
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

"O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stone of turquoise,
your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your battlements of rubies,
you gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
All your sons will be taught by the Lord,
and great will be your children's peace.
In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
it will not come near you.
If anyone does attack you,
it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

. . . This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and this is their vindication from me,"
declares the Lord.

(Isaiah 54:9-13, 17.5)