6800. 'And the children of Israel sighed because of their hard service' means grief on account of the endeavour to subdue the truth of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'sighing' as grief; from the representation of 'the children (or sons) of Israel' as the truths of the Church, dealt with in 5414, 5879, 5951; and from the meaning of 'hard service' as the endeavour to subdue, dealt with in 6666, 6670, 6671.