9293. And My faces shall not be seen empty. That this signifies the reception of good by virtue of mercy, and thanksgiving, is evident from the signification of “the faces of Jehovah,” as being good, mercy, peace (see n. 222, 223, 5585, 7599); and from the signification of “not being seen empty,” or without a gift, as being a testification on account of the reception of good, and, thanksgiving; for the gifts that were offered to Jehovah signified such things as are offered by man from the heart unto the Lord, and are accepted by the Lord. Gifts are like all man’s deeds, which in themselves are nothing but gestures, and regarded apart from the will are merely movements that are fashioned in various ways, and as it were jointed, not unlike the motions of a machine, and thus devoid of life. But man’s deeds regarded along with his will are not such motions, but are forms of the will shown before the eyes; for deeds are nothing else than testifications of such things as belong to the will; and they also have their soul or life from the will. And therefore the same can be said of deeds as of motions, namely, that there is nothing living in deeds except will, just as there is nothing living in motions except endeavor. That this is so, is also known to man; for he who is intelligent does not attend to a man’s deeds, but only to the will from which, by which, and on account of which, the deeds come forth. Nay, he who is wise scarcely sees the deeds, but only the nature and amount of the will in them. The case is the same with gifts, in that it is the will in these which the Lord looks at; consequently by the gifts offered to Jehovah—that is, to the Lord—are signified such things as are of the will, or of the heart. Man’s will is what is called in the Word his “heart.” From all this it is also evident how it is to be understood that everyone will receive judgment in the other life according to his deeds or works (Matthew 16:27); namely, that it will be according to those things which are of the heart, and from this of the life.

[2] That such things are signified by the gifts offered to Jehovah, is plain from the Word, as in David:

Sacrifice and gift Thou hast not desired, burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin Thou hast not required. I have longed to do Thy will, O my God (Psalms 40:6, 8).

Jehovah your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords, who accepteth not faces, and taketh not a gift (Deuteronomy 10:17).

If thou offer thy gift upon the altar, and with this doth remember that thy brother hath something against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go away; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift (Matthew 5:23-24).

From this it is evident that gifts offered to the Lord were testifications of such things as are offered by the heart, which are those of faith and of charity; being “reconciled to a brother” denotes charity toward the neighbor.

[3] Again:

There came wise men from the East, and they offered to the newborn Lord gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:1, 11);

by “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” are signified all things of the good of love and of faith in the Lord; by “gold” those of the good of love; by “frankincense” those of the good of faith; and by “myrrh” those of both in things external. The reason why the wise men from the East offered these things, was that among some in the East there remained from ancient times the knowledge and wisdom of the men of old, which consisted in understanding and seeing heavenly and Divine things in those which are in the world and upon the earth. For it was known to the ancients that all things correspond and are representative, and consequently have a signification; as is also evident from the most ancient books and monuments of the Gentiles. Consequently they knew that gold, frankincense, and myrrh signify the goods which are to be offered to God. They also knew from their prophetic writings, which were of the Ancient Church (n. 2686), that the Lord was to come into the world, and that a star would then appear to them, of which star moreover Balaam, who also was one of the sons of the East, prophesied (Numbers 24:17 n. 3762); for a “star” signifies the knowledges of internal good and truth, which are from the the Lord, (n. 2495, 2849, 4697).

[4] In David:

The kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall bring a gift; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall bring a present; and all kings shall bow themselves; and all nations shall serve Him (Psalms 72:10-11).

These things were said of the Lord; by “bringing a gift,” and “bringing a present,” is signified the good of love and of faith; for “Tarshish” signifies the doctrinal things of love and of faith (n. 1156); “Sheba and Seba” signify the knowledges of good and truth (n. 1171, 3240); “kings,” the truths of the church (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148); and “nations,” the goods of the church (n. 1159, 1258-1260, 1416, 1849, 4574, 6005, 8771). From this it is evident what is meant by “all kings bowing themselves, and all nations serving Him.”

[5] In Isaiah:

They shall declare My glory among the nations; then shall they bring all your brethren out of all nations for a gift to Jehovah, upon horses, upon chariots, and upon litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to the mountain of My holiness Jerusalem; as the sons of Israel bring a gift in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah (Isaiah 66:19-20);

he who is unacquainted with the internal sense of the Word may believe that these things were said of the Jews, and that these would therefore be brought to Jerusalem by the nations; but it is the goods of love and of faith in the Lord that are thus prophetically described; and the things meant by “a gift, horses, chariots, litters, mules, and dromedaries,” upon which they were to be brought, are the intellectual, doctrinal, and memory things of truth and good, as is evident from their signification (of horses, n. 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6401, 6534, 8029, 8146, 8248; of chariots, n. 5321, 5945, 8146, 8148, 8215; and of mules, n. 2781).

[6] In Malachi:

He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may bring to Jehovah a gift in righteousness. Then shall the gift of Judah and of Jerusalem be sweet to Jehovah, as in the days of old, and as in former years (Malachi 3:3-4);

as by “a gift offered to Jehovah” is signified the good of love and of faith, therefore it is said that “they may bring to Jehovah a gift in righteousness,” and that “then it will be sweet to Jehovah” “purifying the sons of Levi, and purging them as gold and silver” signifies the purification of good and truth from evils and falsities; “the sons of Levi” denote those who are in faith and charity, thus who are of the spiritual church (n. 3875, 4497, 4502, 4503); “Judah” denotes the good of celestial love, thus those who are in this good (n. 3654, 3881).

2686. That a “bow” here denotes the doctrine of truth, is evident from its signification. Wherever wars are treated of in the Word, and wherever they are mentioned, no other wars are signified than spiritual ones (n. 1664). There were books also in the Ancient Word that were entitled “The Wars of Jehovah;” as is evident in Moses (Numbers 21:14-16); which, being written in the prophetic style, had an internal sense, and treated of the combats and temptations of the Lord, and also of those of the church, and of the men of the church. This is manifest from the fact that some things were taken from these books by Moses; and also from other books of that church called “The Books of the Prophetic Enunciators” (respecting whichsee Numbers 21:27-30), in which almost the same words are found as in Jeremiah (compare Numbers 21:28, and Jeremiah 48:45). From this it may also be concluded that the Ancient Church had writings both historic and prophetic that were Divine and inspired, and that in their internal sense treated of the Lord and His kingdom; and that these were the Word to them, as are to us those historic and prophetic books which in the sense of the letter treat of the Jews and Israelites, but in their internal sense of the Lord, and of the things which are His.

[2] As in the Word, and also in the books of the Ancient Church, “war” signified spiritual war, so all arms, such as sword, spear, buckler, shield, darts, bow, and arrows, signified special things belonging to war as understood in the spiritual sense. What the several kinds of arms specifically signify, will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be told elsewhere. Here it will now be shown what a “bow” signifies, namely, the doctrine of truth; and this from the darts, arrows, or other missiles, which denote the doctrinal things from which and with which those in especial fight who are spiritual, and who were thence formerly called “shooters with the bow.”

[3] That a “bow” signifies the doctrine of truth is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Jehovah’s arrows are sharp, and all His bows are bent, the hoofs of His horses are counted as rock, and His wheels as the whirlwind (Isaiah 5:28).

Here the truths of doctrine are treated of; “arrows” are spiritual truths; “bows” are doctrine; the “horses’ hoofs” are natural truths; the “wheels” are their doctrine; and as these things have such a signification they are attributed to Jehovah, to whom they cannot be attributed except in a spiritual sense; for otherwise they would be empty words and unbecoming.

In Jeremiah:

The Lord hath bent His bow like an enemy, He hath stood with His right hand as an adversary, and hath slain all that were pleasant to the eye in the tent of the daughter of Zion, He hath poured out His fury like fire (Lam. 2:4).

Here “bow” denotes the doctrine of truth, which appears to those who are in falsities as an enemy and as hostile; no other bow can be predicated of the Lord.

In Habakkuk:

O Jehovah, Thou ridest upon Thy horses, Thy chariots of salvation, Thy bow will be made quite bare (Hab. 3:8-9).

Here also the “bow” is the doctrine of good and truth.

In Moses:

They grieved him, and shot at him, the archers hated him, his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob; from thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel (Genesis 49:23-24); where Joseph is spoken of. His “bow” denotes the doctrine of good and truth.

[4] In John:

I saw and behold a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow, and there was given unto him a crown (Revelation 6:2).

The “white horse” denotes wisdom; “he that sat thereon,” the Word, as is said plainly in Revelation 19:13, where the white horse is again treated of; and as he that sat thereon was the Word, it is evident that the “bow” is the doctrine of truth.

In Isaiah:

Who hath raised up righteousness from the east, and called him to his footsteps? He hath given nations before him, and made him to rule over kings; he gave them as dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow (Isaiah 41:2); where the Lord is treated of; the “sword” denotes truth; the “bow,” doctrine from Him. In the same:

I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan (Isaiah 66:19).

They that “draw the bow” denote those who teach doctrine. The signification of “Tarshish” may be seen above (n. 1156); that of “Lud” (n. 1195, 1231), that of “Tubal” (n. 1151), and that of “Javan” (1152-1153, 1155).

[5] In Jeremiah:

For the voice of the horseman and of him that shooteth the bow, the whole city fleeth; they have entered into clouds, and climbed up upon the rocks, the whole city is forsaken (Jeremiah 4:29).

The “horseman” denotes those who declare truth; the “bow,” the doctrine of truth, which they who are in falsities flee from or fear. In the same:

Set yourselves in array against Babel round about; all ye that bend the bow shoot at her, spare not with the arrow, for she hath sinned against Jehovah (Jeremiah 50:14, 29; 51:2-3); where “they that shoot, and bend the bow” denote those who declare and teach the doctrine of truth.

[6] In Zechariah:

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and He shall speak peace unto the nations (Zech. 9:10).

“Ephraim” denotes the understanding of truth in the church; the “bow,” doctrine.

In Samuel:

David lamented with this lamentation over Saul, and over Jonathan his son, and he said it to teach the sons of Judah the bow (2 Samuel 1:17-18).

where the “bow” is not the subject, but the doctrinal things of faith.

In Ezekiel:

Said the Lord Jehovih, This is the day whereof I have spoken; and they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn up the weapons, the shield and the buckler, the bow and the arrows, and the hand staff and the spear, and they shall kindle fire in them seven years (Ezekiel 39:8-9).

The arms here named are all arms of spiritual war; the “bow with the arrows” denote doctrine and its truths. In the other life truths themselves, when separated from good and represented to the sight, appear like arrows.

[7] As a “bow” signifies the doctrine of truth, in the opposite sense it signifies the doctrine of falsity. The same things in the Word have usually an opposite sense, as has been said and shown in several places; thus in Jeremiah:

Behold a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be stirred up from the sides of the earth; they lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and shall not have compassion; their voice shall roar like the sea, they shall ride upon horses set in array as a man for battle, against thee, O daughter of Zion (Jeremiah 6:22-23); where “bow” denotes the doctrine of falsity. In the same:

Behold a people cometh from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the sides of the earth, they lay hold on bow and spear, they are cruel, and have no compassion (Jeremiah 50:41-42); where the meaning is similar. In the same:

They bend their tongue; their bow is a lie, and not for truth, they are grown strong in the land; for they have gone forth from evil to evil, and have not known Me (Jeremiah 9:3).

[8] That the “bow” is the doctrine of falsity is plainly manifest, for it is said, “they bend their tongue; their bow is a lie, and not for truth.” In the same:

Jehovah Zebaoth said, Behold I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of his might (Jeremiah 49:35).

In David:

Come, behold the works of Jehovah, who hath made desolations in the earth; He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth, He breaketh the bow, He cutteth the spear in sunder, He burneth the chariots in the fire (Psalms 46:9).

In Judah is God known, His name is great in Israel; in Salem also shall be His tabernacle, and His dwelling-place in Zion; there brake He the fiery shafts of the bow, the shield and the sword, and the war (Psalms 76:1-3).

In the same:

Lo the wicked bend the bow, they make ready their arrows upon the string, to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart (Psalms 11:2).

Here the “bow and arrows” plainly denote doctrinal things of falsity.