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Luke Chapter 6

    Chapter 6

THE INTERNAL SENSE

  1. BUT it came to pass on the second prime Sabbath, that he went through the corn fields; and his Disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing with [their] hands.
  2. certain of the Pharisees said to them, why do you what is not lawful to do on the Sabbaths?

THAT when conjunction of good and of truth is effected, it is allowed man to appropriate every good, notwithstanding appearances to the contrary in the representative Church, vs 1, 2.

  1. And Jesus answering said to them, have you not read this which David did, when he hungered and they that were with him?
  2. How he went into the house of God, and did take the show-bread, and did eat, and gave also to them that were with him, which it is not lawful to eat, but for the priests alone?
  3. And he said to them, that the son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.

Since the lord, by coming into the world, and uniting his Human principle to the Divine, abolished the Sabbath as to representative worship, and made Himself the True Sabbath, vs 3, 4, 5.

  1. But it came to pass on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue, and to teach, and there was there a man, and his right hand was withered.
  2. But the Scribes and Pharisees watched him whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him.
  3. But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, rise up, and stand forth in the midst; but he arising stood forth.
  4. Then said Jesus to them, I will ask you somewhat; Is it lawful on the Sabbaths to do good, or to do evil? To save the soul or to destroy it?
  5. And looking round about upon them all, he said to the man, stretch forth your hand. But he did so, and his hand was made whole as the other.

And thus restores the truth of the Church to conjunction with its good, from which it had been separated, since this was the great end of his coming into the world, and making his Human principle Divine, vs 6 to 11.

  1. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

Nevertheless this doctrine excites abhorrence and hatred against Him in the representative Church, vs 11.

  1. But it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray, and passed the night in the prayer-house of God.

Which abhorrence and hatred become instrumental in leading the lord's Human principle to a more intimate union with the Divine, vs 12.

  1. And when it was day, he called to him his disciples, and chose twelve of them, whom he named Apostles.

So that by the light derived from this union he is enabled to discriminate all the goods and truths constituent of the Church, and to conjoin them to himself, vs 13.

  1. Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;
  2. Matthew and Thomas; James the [son] of Alpheus, and Simon called Zelotes;
  3. Judas [the brother] of James, and Judas Iscariot who also was the traitor.

Which goods and truths are enumerated, vs 14 to 17.

  1. And going down with them, he stood in the plain; and a company of his disciples, and much multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him and to he healed of their diseases;
  2. And they that were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were healed.
  3. And all the multitudes sought to touch him, for power went out from him, and healed all.

Therefore all, who are desirous of spiritual instruction, and to be delivered from false and evil principles, seek communication and conjunction of life with the lord, and find it, vs 17 to 20.

  1. And he lifting up his eyes on his disciples, said, Blessed are [you] poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Being instructed, that all have such communication and conjunction, who from the heart acknowledge that no one knows, understands, and is wise of himself, but from the lord, since in this acknowledgement there is internal truth and good, vs 20.

  1. Blessed are [you] that hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are [you] that weep now, for you shall laugh.

And being further instructed, that, all are gifted with heavenly good, who in heart desire it, and that all are gifted with heavenly truth, who feel the want of it, vs 21.

  1. Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from them], and shall reproach you, and shall cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake,
  2. Rejoice you in that day and exult, for behold, your reward is much in heaven, for so did their fathers to the Prophets.

And that all goods and truths are more closely conjoined with the lord, and more fully confirmed, in states of opposition from infernal men and infernal spirits, than at any other time, and that this has been the case from the beginning, vs 22, 23.

  1. But wo to you that are rich! for you have received your consolation.
  2. Wo to you that are full! for you shall hunger. Wo to you that laugh now! For you shall mourn and weep.

Yet that truth of itself, without good, separates itself from the lord, as also does good without truth, and as likewise does the affection of truth, unless the affection of good be in it, vs 24, 25.

  1. Wo to you when all men shall speak well of you. For so did their fathers to the false Prophets.

Since the affection of truth may be excited by worldly considerations of fame and glory, as was the case with teachers of old, vs 26.

  1. But I say to you which hear, Love you your enemies; do good to them which hate you.

Whereas the affection of good is kind and well-disposed towards all, doing good to, instructing, and interceding for all, vs 27, 28.

  1. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you.
  2. And to him that smites you on the [one] cheek, offer also the other; and him that takes away your cloak, forbid not to take your coat also.

Also being patient, and contented as far as possible, under the assault of evil, whether the assault be against good, or against truth, vs 27, 28, 29.

  1. Give to every one that asks you; and of him that takes away what is your, seek it not again.
  2. And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise.

And imparting both good and truth to all who are in the affection of those principles, content, for the sake of others, to be deprived of its own, and showing kindness  to others in the same degree that it expects to receive, kindness from others, vs 30, 31.

  1. And if you love them that love you, what favour have you? For sinners also love those that love them.
  2. And if you do good to those that do good to you, what favour have you? For sinners also do the same.
  3. And if you lend [to them] of whom you hope to receive again, what favour have you? For sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again.

Since true charity does not consist in natural affection, but in spiritual, and thence in natural, vs 32, 33, 34.

  1. Nevertheless love you your enemies, and do good, and lend hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be much, and you shall he the sons of the Highest; for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil.
  2. Be you therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Good therefore ought to be done without a view to recompense, because it brings along with it its own reward, by restoring in man the Divine image and likeness, vs 35, 36.

  1. Also judge not, and you shall not be judged; condemn not, and you shall not he condemned; forgive and you shall be forgiven,
  2. Give, and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.

So that he will never think ill of what is good and true, but will live in the exercise of charity, from a conviction, that in proportion as he does good to others, he will receive a more abundant measure of the love of good from the lord, vs 37, 38.

  1. But He spoke a parable to them, can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both full into the pit?

Neither will he attempt to instruct others, until he himself is instructed in the truth,  lest he should lead both himself and others into what is false, vs 39.

  1. The disciple is not above his teacher; but every one that is perfected shall be as his teacher.

But will rather submit himself to the guidance of the Divine Truth, vs 39, 40.

  1. But why behold you the mote that is in your brother's eye, but perceive not the beam that is your own eye?
  2. Or how can you say to your brother, brother, let me pull out the mote that is in your eye, when you yourself behold not the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of your own eye, and then shall you ace clearly in cast out the mote that is in your brother's eye.

Not looking at the intellectual errors of another, but at the evils which pervert his own understanding, since it is impossible to correct another's intellectual errors, until a man's own understanding be separated from evil, and therefore every one ought first to remove evil from his own love and life, that he may be in a state to remove error from the understanding of another; 5:41, 42.

  1. For a good tree brings not forth corrupt fruit, neither does a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
  2. For every tree is known from its own fruit, for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

For the good of love produces good of life, as evil love produces evil of life, therefore every one's quality may be known from his life, since no good, either external or internal, can be derived from falses and evils, vs 43, 44.

  1. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good, and the evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, brings forth that which is evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks

The true character of every one is thus determined by his will, since if the will be principled in the love of truth, the good of life will be thence derived, whereas if the will be principled in the love of what is false, it will then give birth to evil of life, vs 45.

  1. But why call you me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

That consequently external worship is of no avail, unless it proceed from obedience of life, vs 46.

  1. Whosoever comes to me, and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you to whom he is like.
  2. He is like a man building a house, who dug, and deepened, and laid the foundation on a rock; and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on a rock.

Which obedience consists in the acknowledgement of the lord's divine Humanity, and in a right understanding and practice of His precepts, by virtue whereof the true believer acquires a knowledge of the Interior truths of the word, and conjoins them with the divine truth, and thus in preserved in all states of spiritual temptation, vs 47, 48.

  1. But he that hears and does not, is like a man who built a house upon the earth without a foundation, on which the stream beat violently, and immediately it fell, and the fall of that house was great.

Whereas he, who is only in the intelligence of truth, and not in the good of love and charity, fails in temptation, and perishes by grievous falses, vs 49

Translation

  1. BUT it came to pass on the second prime Sabbath, that he went through the corn fields; and his Disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing with [their] hands.
  2. But certain of the Pharisees said to them, why do you what is not lawful to do on the Sabbaths?
  3. And Jesus answering said to them, have you not read this which David did, when he hungered and they that were with him?
  4. How he went into the house of God, and did take the show-bread, and did eat, and gave also to them that were with him, which it is not lawful to eat, but for the priests alone?
  5. And he said to them, that the son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.
  6. But it came to pass on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue, and to teach, and there was there a man, and his right hand was withered.
  7. But the Scribes and Pharisees watched him whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him.
  8. But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, rise up, and stand forth in the midst; but he arising stood forth.
  9. Then said Jesus to them, I will ask you somewhat; Is it lawful on the Sabbaths to do good, or to do evil? To save the soul or to destroy it?
  10. And looking round about upon them all, he said to the man, stretch forth your hand. But he did so, and his hand was made whole as the other.
  11. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
  12. But it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray, and passed the night in the prayer-house of God.
  13. And when it was day, he called to him his disciples, and chose twelve of them, whom he named Apostles.
  14. Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;
  15. Matthew and Thomas; James the [son] of Alpheus, and Simon called Zelotes;
  16. Judas [the brother] of James, and Judas Iscariot who also was the traitor.
  17. And going down with them, he stood in the plain; and a company of his disciples, and much multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him and to he healed of their diseases;
  18. And they that were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were healed.
  19. And all the multitudes sought to touch him, for power went out from him, and healed all.
  20. And he lifting up his eyes on his disciples, said, Blessed are [you] poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
  21. Blessed are [you] that hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are [you] that weep now, for you shall laugh.
  22. Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from them], and shall reproach you, and shall cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake,
  23. Rejoice you in that day and exult, for behold, your reward is much in heaven, for so did their fathers to the Prophets.
  24. But wo to you that are rich! for you have received your consolation.
  25. Wo to you that are full! for you shall hunger. Wo to you that laugh now! For you shall mourn and weep.
  26. Wo to you when all men shall speak well of you. For so did their fathers to the false Prophets.
  27. But I say to you which hear, Love you your enemies; do good to them which hate you.
  28. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you.
  29. And to him that smites you on the [one] cheek, offer also the other; and him that takes away your cloak, forbid not to take your coat also.
  30. Give to every one that asks you; and of him that takes away what is your, seek it not again.
  31. And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise.
  32. And if you love them that love you, what favour have you? For sinners also love those that love them.
  33. And if you do good to those that do good to you, what favour have you? For sinners also do the same.
  34. And if you lend [to them] of whom you hope to receive again, what favour have you? For sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again.
  35. Nevertheless love you your enemies, and do good, and lend hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be much, and you shall he the sons of the Highest; for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil.
  36. Be you therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
  37. Also judge not, and you shall not be judged; condemn not, and you shall not he condemned; forgive and you shall be forgiven,
  38. Give, and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.
  39. But He spoke a parable to them, can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both full into the pit?
  40. The disciple is not above his teacher; but every one that is perfected shall be as his teacher.
  41. But why behold you the mote that is in your brother's eye, but perceive not the beam that is your own eye?
  42. Or how can you say to your brother, brother, let me pull out the mote that is in your eye, when you yourself behold not the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of your own eye, and then shall you ace clearly in cast out the mote that is in your brother's eye.
  43. For a good tree brings not forth corrupt fruit, neither does a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
  44. For every tree is known from its own fruit, for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
  45. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good, and the evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, brings forth that which is evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks
  46. But why call you me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
  47. Whosoever comes to me, and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you to whom he is like.
  48. He is like a man building a house, who dug, and deepened, and laid the foundation on a rock; and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on a rock.
  49. But he that hears and does not, is like a man who built a house upon the earth without a foundation, on which the stream beat violently, and immediately it fell, and the fall of that house was great.

Chapter VI.

Extracts from the Theological Writings

OF

THE HON. EMANUEL SWEDENBORG.

VERSE 5. And he said to them, that the son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. Inasmuch as peace signifies the union of the divine [principle] itself and of the divine Human in the Lord, also the conjunct ion of the Lord with heaven and with the Church, and with all in heaven,  and likewise in the Church who receive Him, therefore the Sabbath was instituted for their remembrance, and had its name from rest or peace, and was the most holy representative of the Church, on which account the Lord also called himself the Lord of the Sabbath. Matt 12:8. Mark 2:27, 28. Luke 6:5. HH 287. See also AC 10360, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730.

Verse 13. And when it was day, He called to him his disciples, and chose twelve of them, whom he named Apostles. That the Lord's Disciples were called Apostles from the circumstance of their being sent to teach concerning Himself and His kingdom, is evident from these words in. Luke," Jesus sent His twelve Disciples to preach the kingdom of God; and the Apostles on their return told Him what things they had done; and Jesus discoursed with them concerning the kingdom of God," Luke 9:1, 2, 10, 11; Again, "When it was day, Jesus called his Disciples, and chose twelve of them whom He named Apostles," Luke 6:13. Again, "I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall kill and persecute" Luke 11:49. They are called prophets and apostles, because by prophets, alike as by apostles, are meant those who are sent to teach truths, but by prophets those who are mentioned in the Old Testament, and by apostles those who are mentioned in the New. AE 100.

Verse 20. 21. And He, lifting up His eyes on His Disciples, said, blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled. In the word throughout mention is made of the poor and needy, and likewise of the hungry and thirsty, and by the poor and needy are signified those, who believe that they know nothing of themselves, and likewise who do not know, because they have not the Word; and by the hungry and thirsty are signified those, who continually desire truths, and to be perfected by them; both the latter and the former are meant by the poor, the needy, the hungry and the thirsty in the following passages, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens; blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall he filled," Matt. vs 3.6. "Blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of God, blessed are the hungry for they shall be filled." AE 118.

That hunger signifies a scarcity of knowledges, is evident from these words, Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled. AC 1460.

Verses 22,23. Blessed are you when men shall hate you and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach you and shall cast out your name as evil for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice you in that day and exult, for behold your reward is much in heaven, for so did their fathers to the prophets. These words relate to those who fight and conquer in temptations induced by evils, thus from hell; temptations are signified by hating you, by separating you, by reproaching you, and casting out your name as evil for the Son of Man's sake, for temptations are assaults and infestations of truth and good by falses and evils; by the Son of Man is meant Divine Truth from the Lord which is assaulted and for which they are infested. Rejoice and exult, because your reward is great in the heavens, signifies heaven with its joy to those who are in the spiritual affection of truth, for they alone fight and conquer, by reason that the Lord is in that affection, Who resists and conquers for man in temptation combats; for so did their fathers to the Prophets, signifies that in like manner they before assaulted the truths of doctrine, which appertained to those who were in the spiritual affection of truth, for by prophets abstractedly from persons are signified truths of doctrine from the Word or from the Lord. AE 695. For the son of man's sake, in the above passage denotes for the sake of the divine Truth which proceeds from the Lord; the divine Truth is the all of faith and of love to the Lord, and to be hated on account of those things is blessedness. AC 9807.

Verse 31. And as you would that men should do to you do you also to them likewise. The law of retaliation was given to the sons of Israel, because such a law prevails in the spiritual world, where he, who does good to another from the heart, receives similar good; hence he, who does evil to another from the heart, receives similar evil; for good from the heart is conjoined with its recompense, and evil from the heart is conjoined with its punishment, hence the good inherit heaven, and the evil hell. That this is the case has been given [me] to know from much experience; the case herein is this; with him, who does good from the heart, good flows in on all sides from heaven into his heart and soul, and inspires good, in which case the affection of love for the neighbour is augmented to him who does good, and with that affection the delight, which is celestial and ineffable; the reason of this is, because the good of love from the Lord is what reigns universally in heaven, and flows in continually according to the degree in which it is expressed to another. The case is the same with evil, so that with him, who does evil to another from the heart, evil from hell flows in on all sides into his heart, and excites evil; in this case the affection of self love is increased at the same time, and with it the delight of hatred and revenge against those who do not submit themselves. The reason of this is, because the evil of self love is what reigns universally in hell, and flows in continually according to the degree in which it is expressed to another. The ground of these things is, because the laws of order in the other life are not learnt from books, and thence stored up in the memory, as with men in the world, but are inscribed in the heart, the laws of evil in the heart of the evil, and the laws of good in the heart of the good, for every man carries along with him into the other life what he had impressed on his heart by life in the world, namely evil with the evil, and good with the good. The law of order, from which these things flow, is what the Lord taught in the above words. As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise; order is from the divine Truth which proceeds from the Lord; the laws of order are truths derived from good in heaven, and truths separate from good in hell; they are said to be separate, not by the Lord, but by man, good being separated by its nonreception. AC 9048.

It is written, You shall love the Lord your God above all things, and the neighbour as yourself, Luke 10:27, where to love his neighbour as himself is not to despise him, in comparison with himself, but to deal justly with him and not to judge of him unjustly. The law of charity enacted and given by the Lord himself is this, "As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise. They who are in the love of heaven so love their neighbour, but they who are in the love of the world love their neighbour from the world, and for the sake of the world; and they who are in the love of self love their neighbour from self, and for the sake of self. TCR 411.

Verse 35. Nevertheless love you your enemies and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be much, and you shall be the sons of the Highest. By these words is signified that good ought not to be done for the sake of recompense, that is, not for the sake of self and the world, thus not tor the sake of reputation, glory, honour and gain, but for the sake of the Lord, which is for the sake of good itself and truth, which appertain to them from the Lord, thus in which the Lord is. By loving enemies and doing good to them, in the proximate sense, is meant to love the Gentiles and to do good to them, which is done by teaching them the truth, and thereby leading them to good, for the Jewish nation called their own people brethren and friends, but the Gentiles enemies and foes; by lending is signified to communicate goods and truths of doctrine from the Word; by hoping for nothing again, is signified not for any thing of self and of the world, but for the sake of good and truth; your reward shall be much, signifies that then they shall have heaven with its blessednesses and delights; and you shall be the sons of the Highest, signifies because they thus do those things not from themselves but from the Lord, for he who does good and teaches truth from the Lord, is his son, but but he who does good from himself, as every one does, who regards honour and gain as the ends of what he does. AE 695.

In the above words by lending is meant to do good from the affection of charity, thus to communicate the goods of heaven, and likewise the goods of the world, but this for the sake of those goods as an end; the affection of charity is to communicate goods without view to recompense as an end, but the nonaffection of charity is to communicate goods for the sake of recompense as an end; to love eneinies, and to do good to the wicked, is the affection of charity, but enemies are loved and are benefitted, when they are instructed, and likewise when they are corrected by suitable methods. The exercise of charity is also signified by lending in these words, "If you shall obey the voice of Jehovah, and shall take heed to do His precepts, you shall lend to many people, but you shall not borrow," Deut 28:12, where to lend to many people is to abound with the goods of intelligence and wisdom, and from abundance to communicate and not to want those of others, because all are given him by the Lord. So in David, "A good man is merciful and lends, he will sustain his words in judgement, for he shall not be moved to eternity," Psalm 112:5, where by being merciful and lending is described the state of those who are in genuine charity. AC 9174, See also AC 2371.

Verse 37. Judge not, and you shall not be judged &c. With the affections of truth and good, the case is this; the genuine affections of truth and good, which are perceived by man, are all from a divine origin, because from the Lord, but in the way, as they descend, they go off into various diverse channels, and there form to themselves new origins, for as they flow-in into affections not genuine and spurious, and into the affections of what is evil and false belonging to man, they are thus varied. They present themselves in the external form often like genuine affections, but still in the internal form they are of such a quality; the only mark by which to know them is from the end regarded; for if this end be for the sake of self or the world, in this case those affections are not genuine, but if it be for the sake of the good of the neighbour, the good of societies, the good of a man's country, and especially if it be for the good of the church, and the good of the Lord's kingdom, they are genuine, for then they are for the sake of the Lord, inasmuch as the Lord is in those goods. Nevertheless it is the part of a wise man to discover ends regarded in himself, since it appears as if they are for the sake of himself, when yet they are not, inasmuch as man is of such a quality that in singular things he reflects upon himself, and this from custom and habit. But if any one is desirous to know the ends regarded by himself, let him only attend to the delight which he perceives in himself from praise and self-glory, and to the delight which he perceives from use separate from himself; if he perceives this latter delightful, he is then in genuine affection; he ought also to attend to the various states in which he is, for states themselves for the most part vary perception. Man is able to explore these things in himself, but he cannot explore them in others, for the ends of the affection of any one are known to the Lord alone; hence it is that the Lord said, "judge not, and you shall not he judged, condemn not, and you shall not be condemned;'' for a thousand persons may appear in similar affection as to truth and good, and yet every one is in dissimilar as to origin, that is, the end regarded; that the end regarded determines the quality of affection, whether it be genuine, or spurious, or false, is from this ground, because the end regarded is the very essential life of man, for man regards as an end what is of his life, or what is the same thing, what is of his love; when the good of his neighhour, the general good, the good of the Lord's Church and kingdom, is the end regarded, in such case man, as to his soul, is in the kingdom of the Lord, thus with the Lord, for the kingdom of the Lord is nothing but a kingdom of ends and of uses for the sake of the good of the human race. The angels themselves, who are attendant on man, are in those his ends alone; in proportion as man is in such an end as prevails in the Lord's kingdom, so far the angels are delighted with him and conjoin themselves to him as a brother; but so far as man is in an end which regards himself, so far the angels recede, and so far evil spirits from hell accede, for in hell no other end has rule. From these considerations it may be manifest of what concern it is to explore and know from what origin affections are, which cannot be known from any other source than from the end regarded. AC 3796. From the above words, judge not and you shall not be judged, &c. &c. is described charity towards the neighbour, or the spiritual affection of truth and good, namely so far as any one is in that charity or in that affection in the world, so far he comes into it after death; that he ought not to think evilly concerning good and concerning truth, is meant by the words, judge not and you shall not be judged, condemn not and you shall not be condemned; it is allowed every one to think evilly concerning what is evil and false, but not concerning what is good and true, for good and truth in the spiritual sense are man's neighbour; inasmuch as charity towards the neighbour is what is understood, therefore it is also said, forgive and you shall be forgiven, give and it shall be given to you; that the spiritual affection, which is called charity, is to remain after death, according to its quantity and quality, is meant by the words, with what measure you mete it shall be measured to you again; and that quantity and quality shall be filled to eternity, is meant by good measure being given, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, denoting the quality and quantity of affection or charity, which will be increased to eternity within or according to its degree in the world. That no other thought, nor other judgement is meant, than concerning the spiritual life of another, may be manifest from this consideration, that it is allowed to every one to think concerning the moral and civil life of another, and likewise to judge concerning it, since without such judgement and thought concerning others, it would be impossible for any civil society to subsist; wherefore by not judging and condemning is signified not to think evilly concerning a neighbour spiritually understood, namely concerning his faith and love, which are of man's spiritual life, for those things lie concealed in his interiors, and hence are not known to any one but to the Lord alone. AE 629.

The Word is not intelligible without doctrine, for without doctrine a person may be led to confirm the idea, that he ought not to judge concerning an evil man that he is evil; whereas from doctrine it is allowed to judge, but justly, for the Lord says, Judge just judgement, John 7:24, TCR 226.

The Lord says Judge not and you shall not be judged, by which word is in no wise to be understood judication concerning the moral and civil life of any one in the world, but judication concerning his spiritual and celestial life. For who does not see, that if it was not allowed to judge concerning the moral life of those who dwell together with him in the world, society would perish? For what would become of society, if there were no public judicatures, and if every one did not exercise his judgement concerning another? But it is not allowed to judge what is the quality of the interior mind or soul, thus what is the quality of his spiritual state, and hence his lot after death, since this is known to the Lord alone, neither does the Lord reveal it till after the decease of every owe, to the intent that every one may act what he acts from freedom, and that thus good or evil may be from him and thereby in him, and hence he may live to himself and his own to eternity. The general judgement, as this, if you are such in internals as you appear in externals, you will be saved or condemned, is allowable; but the particular judgement, as this, you are such in internals, therefore you will be saved or condemned, is not allowable. CL 523.

I have met with several, who in the world had lived like others in things external, elegant in their apparel, feasting daintily, lending money on usury as others, frequenting stage entertainments, speaking jocularly on love affairs as if they did it from libidinous motives, not to mention other things of a similar nature, and yet the angels charged those things as evils of sin upon some, and as no evils on others, declaring the latter guiltless but the former guilty; and being asked the reason of this judgement, when yet the acts were alike in all, they replied, that they contemplate all from purpose, intention, or end, and distinguish them accordingly, and that therefore they excuse or condemn those whom the end excuses or condemns, since all in heaven regard an end of good, and all in hell an end of evil; and that this, and nothing else, is meant by the Lord's words, Judge not and you shall not be judged. CL 453.

Verse 38. Give, and it shall be given to you, good measure, &;c. It may be expedient to say what is meant by a full state; every one, who is either condemned or saved, has a certain measure, which is capable of being filled; the wicked, or they who are condemned, have a certain measure of what is evil and false, and the good, or they who are saved, have a certain measure of what is good and true; this measure belonging to every one, is filled in the other life; but with some the measure is greater, with others lesser; this measure is procured in the world by affections which are of the love, for the more that any had loved what is evil and what is false as thence derived, so much the greater measure he has procured to himself; and the more any one had loved what is good and the truth thence derived, so much the greater measure appertains to him. The limits and degrees of the extension of that measure manifestly appear in the other life, and cannot there be transcended, but may be filled, and likewise actually are filled, namely with goods and truths with those who have been in the affection of what is good and true, and with evils and falses with those who have been in the affection of what is evil and false. Hence it is evident that that measure is the faculty of receiving either what is evil and false or what is good and true, procured in the world. This state is what is meant by a full state, and is signified by thirty. That the measure of every one is filled, the Lord also teaches in Luke, "Give, and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall they give into your bosom:" From these considerations it is now evident what is meant by a full state, AC 7984.

It is said that the operation of Divine Providence continues to eternity, since every angel is perfected in wisdom to eternity; but every one according to the degree of the affection of what is good and true, in which he was when he departed out of the world: This degree is what is perfected to eternity: what is beyond that degree is out of the angel, and not within him, and what is out of him cannot be perfected within him. This is meant by the good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, which shall be given into the bosom of those, who forgive and give to others, that is, who are in the good of charity. DP 334.

All those, who have procured to themselves intelligence and wisdom in the world, are accepted in heaven and become angels, every one according to the quality and quantity of intelligence and wisdom. For whatever man acquires to himself in the world, this remains, and he curries it with him after death, and it is also increased and filled, yet within the degree of affection and desire of truth and its good, but not beyond that degree. They therefore, who had little affection and desire, receive little, nevertheless as much as they are capable of receiving within that degree; but they who had much affection and desire receive much; the degree itself of affection and desire is as a measure, which is increased to the full, more therefore to him whose measure is great, and less to him whose measure is little. The reason of this is, because the love, from which affection and desire are derived, receives all that is suitable to it, and hence reception is proportioned to the love. This is meant by the Lord's words, "Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall they give into your bosom." HH 349.

Verse 39. But He spoke a parable to them, can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the pit? By a pit is signified a false principle, and by the blind those who are in falses, on which account the Lord says, can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the pit ? AC 4728.

The Lord thus spoke to the Scribes and Pharisees, who, although they had the Word, which contains all Divine Truths, still understood nothing of truth; and whereas they taught falses, and falses were also believed by the people, they are called blind leaders of the blind. In the Word they are said to be blind, who do not understand truth, and whereas a pit signifies what is false, it is said that both fall into it. AE 537.

Verse 41. But why behold you the mote that is in your brother's eye, but perceive not the beam that is in your own eye?. By the eye is meant the understanding, the life of which is the life of faith; by beholding a mote in the eye of a brother is meant the discovery of something erroneous as to the understanding of truth; the beam which is in his own eye denotes the huge evil of what is false, for wood in the internal sense signifies good, and in the opposite sense evil; good also is represented in the other life by a beam, wherefore they who feign good with themselves seem to carry a beam, and thus go safe; without such signification of an eye and a beam, what could be meant by seeing a beam in an eye? AC 9051.

Verse 34. For a good tree brings not forth corrupt fruit, neither does a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. That trees, which are so often named in the Word, signify the interior things of man, which appertain to his mind [mens], and to his mind [animus], and that the things which are upon trees, as loaves and fruits, signify such things as are derived from those interior things, may be manifest from many passages, from which it may be evident that by fruit in the above passage is signified the good of love, or, what is the same thing, the good of life. AE 109.

Verse 44. For every tree is known from its own fruit; for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. Inasmuch as the subject here treated of is concerning charity towards the neighbour, it is said that men shall be known from fruits, which are goods of charity; the internal goods of charity are grapes, and the external are figs. AC 5117.

Inasmuch as by fruit is signified the good of life, and the good of life is external good from internal, or natural good from spiritual, and whereas man is known from this good, therefore the Lord says, every tree it known from its own fruit; of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes; fig in this passage is the good of the external or natural man, and grape is the good of the internal or spiritual man; thorns and brambles are the evils opposite to those goods AE 403.

Verse 45. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good, &c. By heart in the Word is meant the will of man, and whereas man thence thinks and speaks, it is said out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Doc. Life, DLife 51.

Verse 46 to the end. Why call you Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say, &c. &c. They who do the Lord's discourses or words are they who love the neighbour, and love the Lord, for whoever loves, he does, John 14:20-34; 15:9-7. AC 9245.

Verse 47. Whosoever comes to Me, and hears My precepts and does them, I will show you to whom He is like, &c. To hear words or discourses denotes to learn or know the precepts of faith which are from the Lord; to do denotes to live according to them. AC 9311.

That to know and understand Divine Truths does not make the Church and form heaven with man, but to know, to understand and to do, the Lord teaches plainly in these words, "Whosoever comes to Me, and hears My words, and does them, I will show you to whom he is like; he is like a man building a house, who laid the foundation on a rock; but he that hears and does not is like a man building a house on the earth without a foundation; in this passage to heAR simply signifies to hear, which is to know and understand; to hear, also in common discourse, has this signification, when it is said to hear a thing, but it signifies both to understand and do, when it is said to hear any one, or to be a hearer, in like manner to hearken. AE 108.

By house founded on a rock is meant the Church and man of the Church, who has founded his doctrine and life on Divine Truth which is from the Lord, thus upon those things which are in the Word, consequently who are in truths grounded in good from the Lord; it is said who are in truths grounded in good, inasmuch as Divine Truth is not received by any one who is not in good; to be in good is to be in good of life, which is charity, wherefore it is said, whoever hears my words and does them, where to do the words of the Lord is good of life, for truth, when man does it, becomes good, since it enters the will and its love, and what is made of the will and the love, this is called good. The temptations, in which such a man of the Church does not fall but conquers, are signified by the rain descending, the floods coming, the winds blowing and beating vehemently upon the house, and yet it did not fall, because it was founded on a rock. For, in the Word by inundations of waters, and by rains, and likewise by storms of wind, are signified temptations. It is indeed a comparison, but it ought to be known that all comparisons in the Word are equally grounded in correspondences, as things not said comparatively. AE 411. See also AC 705.

In the spiritual world, where spaces are only appearances, wisdom makes presence, and love makes conjunction. Acknowledgement of the Lord is given from wisdom, and acknowledgement of the Lord is given from love; acknowledgement of the Lord from wisdom, which viewed in itself is only knowledge, is given from doctrine, and acknowledgement of the Lord from love is given from a life according to it; this latter gives conjunction, but the former presence. This is the reason why they who reject doctrine concerning the Lord remove themselves from Him; and whereas they also reject life, they separate themselves from Him; nevertheless they who do not reject doctrine, but life, are present, yet still separated. They are like friends, who discourse with each other, but do not mutually love each other; and are as two persons, one of whom discourses with another as if he was his friend, but yet hates him like an enemy. That this is the case, is also well known from the general idea, that he who teaches well and lives well, will be saved, but not he who teaches well and lives otherwise; also that he, who does not acknowledge a God, cannot be saved. From these considerations it is evident, what is the quality of religion, when the Lord is thought of from a principle of faith, as it is called, and yet nothing is done from charity; wherefore the Lord says, "W hy call you Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever comes to Me and hears My sayings,and does them, is like a man building a house, and he laid the foundation on a rock; but he who hears and does not, is like a man building a house upon the ground without a foundation" DP 91.

Chapter VI. Translator's Notes and Observations.

VERSE 1. It came to pass on the second prime Sabbath, &c. What is here rendered the second prime Sabbath is expressed, in the common version of the New Testament, by the second Sabbath after the first, but in the original Greek the expression is, en sabbato denlegowroto, which is literally on the second prime Sabbath. The words have been matter of perplexity to interpreters, but the most probable conjecture concerning them is that of the learned Grotius, which is as follows. When any of the solemn yearly feasts fell on the Sabbath day, that Sabbath had a special extraordinary respect attributed to it, and was called sometimes mega sabbaton, a great Sabbath. Now there were three of these feasts, the Passover, Pentecost, and the feast of Tabernacles. Of those feasts some days were days of holy assemblies, Isaiah 1:13, wherein the assemblies were called together; as the first day of unleavened bread, Levit 23:7, and the seventh day of it, vs 8; the day of Pentecost, Levit 33:21; the first day of the feast of Tabernacles, Levit 23:35, and the eighth, vs 36. And these, being days of rest, were a kind of Sabbaths, and distinguished from the other days of the feast, and therefore called emera megali, the great day, and emera megale tes eoptes, the great day of the feast, John 7:37. And accordingly Tertullian, cont, Marcion, L. 5, speaking of the observation of days, mentions Jejunia et dies magnos, fasts and great days. But when any of these great days fell on the Sabbath too, then that was not only a great day, but a great Sabbath. Now this great Sabbath was called also proton sabbaton, a prime, or first, Sabbath, (as proton and mega are all one), and consequently there were three of these prime, or great, or first, Sabbaths, 1st, when the Passover, that is, any of the great days of that feast, but especially the first, fell on a Sabbath; and 2ndly, when the day of Pentecost, and 3rdly, when the great day of the feast of Tabernacles fell on a Sabbath day. And these prime or great Sabbaths wore thus distinguished the one from the other. The first of them called protoproton sabbaton, the first prime Sabbath, that is, when the first day of the feast of Passover fell upon a Sabbath day. The second of them, deuteroproton sabbaton, the second prime Sabbath, that is, the day of Pentecost falling on a Sabbath. The third of them, tritoproton sabbaton,the third prime Sabbath, that is, the great day of the feast of Tabernacles falling on a Sabbath. Hence it appears that by the expression, en deuteroproton sabbaton is meant, on the day of Pentecost falling at that time on the Sabbath.

Verse 12. And passed the night in the prayer house of God. In the common version of the New Testament this passage is rendered, And continued all night in prayer to God. But it deserves to be noted that the original Greek term proseuche, which is here rendered prayer,signifies also a house of prayer, or an oratory, concerning which Dr. Hammond observes, Proseuche signifies an Oratory,or place where men are wont to pray, and so seems to be used in some places of Scripture, especially in St. Luke's writings. Of these proseuchai we find frequent mention in Josephus: In his own Life, the people met together in a proseuche, as they call it, a house of prayer, ample and capacious of great multitudes; and speaking of Tiberias, I found the people convened in a proseuche. Epiphanius too, says, "There were ancient places of prayer both among the Jews without the city, and among the Samaritans, as we find in the Acts of the Apostles. Such a place there is in Sichem, which is now called Neapolis, in a plain region. And some such place it may seem to be, wherein Jesus continued all night."

Verses 32, 23. Blessed are you when men shall hate yout and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach you, and shall cast out your name as evil, &c, The intelligent reader will not fail to note the connection of ideas expressed by these words according to their internal sense, for to hate denotes, in this case, the aversion of the will of the natural man to what is spiritually good and true; to separate, denotes the rejection of such good and truth by the understanding; to reproach, denotes the further disagreement occasioned by such rejection; and to cast out your name as evil, denotes lastly the entire alienation of all that is good and true from the natural mind.

Verse 25. You shall mourn and weep. To the inattentive reader, these words must of necessity appear as an unmeaning tautology, because such a reader annexes no distinct meaning to the two terms, mourning and weeping, when yet we are forced to confess, that the Divine Speaker would never have used two expressions, unless he intended to express by each a different idea. It is impossible therefore to justify the mode of speech here adopted, but by insisting, in agreement with the heavenly doctrine of the New Jerusalem, that the blessed jesus, in all that He spoke, had respect to the heavenly marriage of good and of truth, or to the opposite of that marriage, which is the conjunction of what is evil and false, and that consequently as joy and gladness are the two terms peculiarly applied to denote the happiness of the heavenly marriage, joy having relation to the principle of good, and gladness to the principle of truth, in like manner mourning and weeping are two terms peculiarly applied to murk the misery of the conjunction of what is evil and false, mourning having more relation to the principile of evil, and weeping to the principle of the false.

Verse 44. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. The term gather, in this passage, is expressed by two distinct terms in the original Greek, in the first instance by a term derived from sullego, which properly signifies to gather, or collect together, and in the second instance by a term derived from trugao, which is applied exclusively to gathering grapes, or the vintage.

Verse 47. Whosoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings, and does them, &c. Three distinct qualifications are here pointed at as necessary to constitute the true follower of the blessed jesus, first to come to jesus; secondly, to hear His sayings; and thirdly, to do them. The first qualification has respect to the human will, or love, since this principle alone comes to jesus ; the second has respect to the human understanding, grounded in a well directed will, since this alone hears the sayings of jesus ; and the third has respect to the human operation, influenced by a well directed will and an enlightened understanding, since this alone does those sayings. The three then, when united, form the complete Christian, because they tend to introduce Christian life and love into every principle of soul and body, and thus to conjoin all with Jesus Christ, the Divine source of that life and love.

Verse 48. Who dug and deepened, and laid the foundation on a rock. In the common version of the New Testament, what is here rendered dug and deepened, is expressed by dug deep, as if there was only a single verb, whereas in the original Greek two distinct verbs are applied, the one being derived from schapto, which signifies to dig, and the other from zathuno, which signifies to deepen. It is of importance therefore that the two terms be kept distinct, especially when they are regarded as to their internal or spiritual meaning, since to dig, according to that meaning, is to investigate truth, [see AC 7242]; and to deepen is to go beyond the surface of appearances, so as to explore interior, real, and spiritual truth. Agreeable then to this interpretation, the three expressions united, namely digging, deepening, and laying the foundation on a rock, are most instructive, because to dig is to investigate truth, to deepen is to explore interior truth, and to lay the foundation on a rock is to ground all on the Divine Truth, or the Word of the most high. The distinct processes of digging and deepening are also referred to in the 7th Psalm, vs 15. under the two expressions [in hebrew]

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