8765. And brought you unto Me. That this signifies thus to the good of love which is in heaven, is evident from the fact that Jehovah, who says that they were “brought unto Him” denotes the Divine good of the Divine love (see n. 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921, 4402, 7010, 7268, 7873, 8301, 8760, here the Divine good of the Divine love in heaven (n. 8761). How these things cohere with what immediately precedes, is plain; for in what immediately precedes, by “I bare you on eagles’ wings” is signified that they were raised to heavenly light by means of truths; and by these words, “I brought you unto Me,” is signified to the Divine good of love in heaven, seeing that by means of the truths which are of faith man is brought to good, thus into heaven, and to the Lord there; for man is not in heaven, thus not with the Lord, until he is in good, that is, in the affection of charity.

[2] They who make salvation consist in faith alone, and not at the same time in a life of faith, that is, in a life of charity, believe that anyone can come into heaven and to the Lord, no matter how he has lived; for they do not know what the life of man is, and because they do not know this, they suppose that the life is nothing; and therefore if they are asked whether an evil man can be among the good, they say that by the mercy of God he can, because it is a work of omnipotence. Nay, if they are asked whether a devil can become an angel of heaven, they answer in the affirmative, provided he is willing to receive faith, for about his being able to receive it they have no doubt. But if they are told that evil cannot be turned into good, thus not hell into heaven, with a man, and that this is impossible because contrary to order, and therefore contrary to truth Divine, thus contrary to God Himself, who is order; they answer to this that such things are reasonings about salvation, for which they do not care. From these, and from innumerable other considerations, it can be seen into what blindness about salvation and eternal life the doctrine of faith alone leads.

3424. And the servants of Isaac digged in the valley, and found there a well of living waters. That this signifies the Word as to the literal sense in which is the internal sense, is evident from the signification of “digging in the valley,” as being to make search lower down in respect to where truths are; for to “dig” is to search, and a “valley” denotes what is below (n. 1723, 3417); and from the signification of a “well of living waters,” as being the Word in which are truths Divine, thus the Word as to the literal sense in which is the internal sense. That the Word is called a “fountain,” and indeed a “fountain of living waters,” is well known; but the reason why the Word is also called a “well,” is that the sense of the letter is relatively such; and also because relatively to those who are spiritual the Word is not a “fountain,” but a “well” (n. 2702, 3096). As a “valley” denotes that which is below, or what is the same, that which is exterior, and the fountain was found in a valley, and the literal sense is the lower or exterior sense of the Word, therefore it is the literal sense which is meant; but because the internal sense, that is, the heavenly and Divine sense, is within this, therefore the waters thereof are called “living;” as were also the waters that went forth under the threshold of the new house, in Ezekiel:

And it shall come to pass that every living creature that creepeth, to which the river there comes, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters are come thither and are healed, and everything liveth whithersoever the river cometh (Ezekiel 47:9); where the “river” is the Word; the “waters which cause everything to live” are the Divine truths contained in it; the “fish” are memory-knowledges (n. 40, 991).

[2] That the Word of the Lord is such that it gives life to him that thirsteth, that is, to him that desireth life, and that it is a “fountain whose waters are living,” the Lord also teaches in John when speaking to the woman of Samaria at Jacob’s well:

If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water. Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life (John 4:10, 14).

That the Word is living and therefore gives life, is because in its supreme sense the Lord is treated of, and in the inmost sense His kingdom, in which the Lord is all; and this being the case, there is in the Word life itself, which flows into the minds of those who read the Word with reverence; hence it is that in respect to the Word that is from Himself the Lord declares Himself to be a “fountain of water springing up unto eternal life” (see also n. 2702).

[3] That just as the Lord’s Word is called a “fountain,” so is it also called a “well,” is evident in Moses:

Israel sang this song: Spring up, O well, answer ye unto it: the princes digged the well; the chiefs of the people digged it for the lawgiver with their staves (Numbers 21:17-18).

These words were spoken at the “place Beer,” that is, at the “place of the well.” That by “well” here is signified the Word of the Ancient Church, spoken of above (n. 2897), is evident from what is there said; “princes” are primary truths that are the source; (that “princes” signify primary truths may be seen above, n. 1482, 2089); the “chiefs of the people” are lower truths, such as are those contained in the literal sense (n. 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295); that the “lawgiver” is the Lord, is evident; “staves” denote the powers which they possessed.