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Matthew 6

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1 Take heed not to do your alms before men to be seen of them, otherwise ye have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens.

2 When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3 But thou, when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand does;

4 so that thine alms may be in secret, and thy Father who sees in secret will render [it] to thee.

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets so that they should appear to men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But *thou*, when thou prayest, enter into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who sees in secret will render [it] to thee.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as those who are of the nations: for they think they shall be heard through their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like them, for your Father knows of what things ye have need before ye beg [anything] of him.

9 Thus therefore pray *ye*: Our Father who art in the heavens, let thy name be sanctified,

10 let thy kingdom come, let thy will be done as in heaven so upon the earth;

11 give us to-day our needed bread,

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors,

13 and lead us not into temptation, but save us from evil.

14 For if ye forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father also will forgive you [yours],

15 but if ye do not forgive men their offences, neither will your Father forgive your offences.

16 And when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, downcast in countenance; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear fasting to men: verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But *thou*, [when] fasting, anoint thy head and wash thy face,

18 so that thou mayest not appear fasting unto men, but to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret shall render [it] to thee.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust spoils, and where thieves dig through and steal;

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust spoils, and where thieves do not dig through nor steal;

21 for where thy treasure is, there will be also thy heart.

22 The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body will be light:

23 but if thine eye be wicked, thy whole body will be dark. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great the darkness!

24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and will love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 For this cause I say unto you, Do not be careful about your life, what ye should eat and what ye should drink; nor for your body what ye should put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than raiment?

26 Look at the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into granaries, and your heavenly Father nourishes them. Are *ye* not much more excellent than they?

27 But which of you by carefulness can add to his growth one cubit?

28 And why are ye careful about clothing? Observe with attention the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin;

29 but I say unto you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these.

30 But if God so clothe the herbage of the field, which is to-day, and to-morrow is cast into [the] oven, will he not much rather you, O [ye] of little faith?

31 Be not therefore careful, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we put on?

32 for all these things the nations seek after; for your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Be not careful therefore for the morrow, for the morrow shall be careful about itself. Sufficient to the day [is] its own evil.

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 956

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956. And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. This symbolically means that anyone who has any knowledge of the Lord's coming and of the New Heaven and New Church, thus of the Lord's kingdom, let him pray for the Lord's coming; and anyone who desires truths, let him pray for the Lord to come with light. And anyone who loves truths will then receive them from the Lord apart from any endeavors of his own.

"Let him who hears say, 'Come!'" symbolically means that anyone who hears about the Lord's coming and about the New Heaven and New Church, thus about the Lord's kingdom, and so has some knowledge of these, should pray for the Lord to come. "Let him who thirsts say, 'Come!'" symbolically means that anyone who longs for the Lord's kingdom and truths at that time should pray for the Lord to come with light. "Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" symbolically means that whoever is moved by love to learn truths and assimilate them into himself will receive them from the Lord apart from any endeavors of his own. To desire symbolizes love, because whatever a person desires from the heart is something he loves, and whatever he loves is something he desires from the heart. The water of life symbolizes Divine truths obtained from the Lord through the Word (no. 932), and to obtain them freely means, symbolically, apart from any endeavors of his own.

Something similar to the symbolic meaning in this verse is that of the wish contained in the Lord's Prayer, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth" (no. 839). The Lord's kingdom is the church that is united with heaven. So it is that we are now told, "Let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come."

[2] That thirsting symbolizes a longing for truths is clear from the following:

...I will pour water on him who is thirsty...; I will pour My spirit on your offspring... (Isaiah 44:3)

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters... buy wine and milk without money... (Isaiah 55:1)

...Jesus... cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me..., out of his belly will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38)

My soul thirsts... for the living God. (Psalms 42:2)

O God, You are my God...; my soul thirsts for You; ...I am weary, without water. (Psalms 63:1)

Blessed are those who... thirst for righteousness... (Matthew 5:6)

To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Revelation 21:6)

The last symbolically means that to those who desire truths for some useful spiritual purpose, the Lord will give of Himself through the Word everything conducive to that useful purpose.

[3] Thirst and thirsting also symbolize perishing from a lack of truth, as is clear from the following:

...my people will go into exile, because they have no acknowledgment... their multitude dried up with thirst. (Isaiah 5:13)

...the foolish person speaks foolishness, and his heart works iniquity..., and he causes the soul... of the thirsty for drink to fail. (Isaiah 32:6)

The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, their tongues fail for thirst. I, Jehovah, will hear them. (Isaiah 41:17)

Contend with your mother..., lest I strip her naked... and slay her with thirst. (Hosea 2:2-3)

The prophet's mother there is the church.

Behold, the days are coming... when I will send a hunger on the land, not a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah... In that day the fair virgins and young men shall faint from thirst. (Amos 8:11, 13)

On the other hand, not thirsting symbolically means to have no lack of truth, in the following:

Jesus... said..., "Whoever drinks... of the water that I shall give him will not thirst to eternity." (John 4:13-15)

Jesus said..., ."..he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)

Jehovah has redeemed... Jacob. Then they will not thirst... He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them. (Isaiah 48:20-21)

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.