241. Verse 18. I counsel thee, signifies the means of reformation of those who are in the doctrine of faith alone. This is evident from what now follows, for the reformation of those who are in that doctrine is now treated of; therefore "I counsel thee" implies precepts as to how such must live that they may be reformed and thus saved.

289. 'Wife' is used to mean the Church, in the universal sense the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth. This too has been shown already, while the fact that 'mother' as well has the same meaning follows from this. In the Word the Church is commonly called 'mother', as in Isaiah,

Where is your mother's bill of divorce? Isaiah 50:1.

In Jeremiah,

Your, mother has been utterly shamed, she who bore you is covered with shame. Jeremiah 50:12.

In Ezekiel,

[You are] your mother's daughter who loathes her husband and her sons. Your mother is a Hittite and your father an Amorite. Ezekiel 16:45.

Here 'husband' (vir) stands for the Lord and everything celestial, 'sons for truths of faith, 'Hittite' for falsity, and 'Amorite' for evil. In the same prophet,

Your mother was like a vine in your likeness, planted beside the waters, fruitful, full of branches by reason of many waters. Ezekiel 19:10.

Here 'mother' stands for the Ancient Church. The Most Ancient Church is pre-eminently called a 'mother' because it was the first Church, and the only one to be celestial. For that reason it was the Lord's beloved more than any other.

5581. 'That their father said to them' means a perception received from the things that constituted the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in the historical narratives of the Word as perception, often dealt with already, and from the representation of Israel, to whom 'father' refers here, as the Church. For 'Israel' is the internal spiritual Church, and 'Jacob' the external Church, see 4286, 4292, 4570. The word 'father' is used because in the Word 'father' as well as 'mother' means the Church; but 'mother' means the Church so far as truth is concerned, and 'father' the Church so far as good is concerned. The reason for this is that the Church is a spiritual marriage formed from good as the father and truth as the mother.