2228. All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. That this signifies that all who are in charity will be saved by Him, is evident from the signification of being “blessed,” as being to be endowed with all goods which are from a heavenly origin (as explained n. 981, 1096, 1420, 1422). They who are endowed with goods from a heavenly origin, that is, with both celestial and spiritual goods (concerning which just above, n. 2177), are also endowed with eternal salvation, that is, are saved. By “all the nations of the earth” are meant in the internal sense those who are in the good of love and of charity, as is evident from the signification of a “nation,” as being good (n. 1159, 1258-1260, 1416, 1849). That all men in the whole globe are not meant by “all the nations of the earth,” is evident to everyone, because there are very many among them who are not saved, but only those who are in charity, that is, who have attained the life of charity.

[2] That none may be unaware how the case is with the salvation of men after their decease, it shall be briefly stated. There are many who say that man is saved by faith, or, in their words, if he only has faith; but for the most part they are those who do not know what faith is. Some suppose that it is mere thought; some that it is an acknowledgment of something to be believed; some that it is the whole doctrine of faith, which is to be believed; and others otherwise. Thus in the bare knowledge of what faith is they wander in error; consequently in the knowledge of what that is by which man is saved. Faith, however, is not mere thought, nor is it an acknowledgment of something to be believed, nor a knowledge of all things which belong to the doctrine of faith. By these no one can be saved; for they can take root no deeper than in the thought, and thought saves no one, but the life which the man has procured for himself in the world by means of the knowledges of faith. This life remains; whereas all thought which does not accord with the life perishes, even so as to become none at all. The heavenly consociations are according to lives, and by no means according to thoughts which are not of the life. Thoughts which are not of the life are counterfeit, and such are altogether rejected.

[3] In general, life is twofold, being on the one hand infernal, on the other heavenly. Infernal life is acquired from all those ends, thoughts, and works which flow from the love of self, consequently from hatred against the neighbor; heavenly life, from all those ends, thoughts, and works which are of love toward the neighbor. The latter is the life to which all things that are called faith have regard, and which is procured by all things of faith. All this shows what faith is, namely, that it is charity, for to charity all things lead which are said to be of the doctrine of faith; in it they are all contained, and from it they are all derived. The soul, after the life of the body, is such as its love is.

1422. I will bless them that bless thee. That this signifies all happiness to those who acknowledge the Lord from the heart, is evident from the signification of a “blessing,” as involving all and each of the things that are from the Lord, as well those that are good as those that are true; thus celestial, spiritual, natural, worldly, and corporeal things; and because in the universal sense “blessing” embraces all these, it may be seen in each passage, from the connection, what is signified by “to bless;” for this adapts itself to the things of which it is predicated. From this it is evident that “I will bless them that bless thee,” signifies all happiness to those who acknowledge the Lord from the heart; for in the internal sense, as already said, the Lord is here treated of.

[2] Among the ancients, “to bless Jehovah,” or “the Lord,” was a customary form of speech, as is evident from the Word. Thus in David:

Bless ye God in the congregations, the Lord from the fountain of Israel (Psalms 68:26).

Again:

Sing to Jehovah, bless His name, proclaim His salvation from day to day (Psalms 96:2).

In Daniel:

Then was the secret revealed in a vision of the night; therefore Daniel blessed the God of the heavens; he said, Blessed be the name of God Himself for ever and ever, for wisdom and power are His (Daniel 2:19-20).

Of Zacharias and Simeon we also read that they “blessed God” (Luke 1:64; 2:28). Here it is evident that “to bless the Lord” is to sing to Him, to proclaim the good tidings of His salvation, to preach His wisdom and power, and thus to confess and acknowledge the Lord from the heart. They who do this cannot but be blessed by the Lord, that is, be gifted with those things which belong to blessing, namely, with celestial, spiritual, natural, worldly, and corporeal good; these, when they follow each other in this order, are the goods in which there is happiness.

[3] As “to bless Jehovah,” or “the Lord,” and “to be blessed by Jehovah,” or “the Lord,” was a common form of speech, it was therefore common also to say “Blessed be Jehovah.” As in David:

Blessed be Jehovah, because He hath heard the voice of my supplications (Psalms 28:6).

Again:

Blessed be Jehovah, for He hath made His mercy wonderful to me (Psalms 31:21).

Again:

Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayers, nor His mercy from me (Psalms 66:20).

Again:

Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things; and blessed be His glorious name for ever, and let the whole earth be filled with His glory (Psalms 72:18-19).

Again:

Blessed art Thou, O Jehovah teach me Thy statutes (Psalms 119:12).

Again:

Blessed be Jehovah, my Rock, that teacheth my hands (Psalms 144:1).

In Luke:

Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying, Blessed be the God of Israel, for He hath visited and wrought deliverance for His people (Luke 1:67-68).