9817. 'And you shall speak to all the wise at heart' means an influx from the Lord through the Word into all who are governed by the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'speaking' as influx, dealt with in 2951, 5481, 5743, 5797, 7270; and from the meaning of 'the wise at heart' as those who are governed by the good of love, dealt with below. The reason why influx from the Lord through the Word is meant is that for members of the Church the main channel by which the Lord flows in is the Word. This is so because the nature of the Word is such that all things without exception there correspond to the Divine spiritual and Divine celestial realities that exist in the heavens; and as a result of this a person shares affections and thoughts with angels, in so complete a manner that he and they are seemingly one. So it is that the world has been joined to heaven through the Word, but only among those who are governed by the good of faith and love. From all this it becomes clear that for members of the Church the Lord flows in through the Word; for the Lord is the all in the heavens, since what is Divine and emanates from the Lord, and is received by angels, composes heaven.

[2] The reason why 'the wise at heart' means those who are governed by the good of love is that the presence of wisdom in a person is attributable to the life of heaven in him, also that 'heart' means the good of love. In the Word 'spirit' and 'heart' are expressions that have regard to the life of heaven present with a person, 'spirit' being used to mean that life in the understanding part of the person's mind and 'heart' that life in the will part. To the understanding part belongs truth, but to the will part belongs good; the former has to do with faith, but the latter with love. For the understanding receives truths that constitute faith, and the will forms of good that are aspects of love. From this it is evident that by 'the wise at heart' those governed by the good of love received from the Lord are meant. The good of love is celestial good, through which spiritual good comes into being; and spiritual good is that which covers celestial good, like garments the body. And since Aaron's garments represented the Lord's spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, and the former comes into being through the latter, the present verse goes on to say that 'the wise at heart', that is, those governed by the good of love received from the Lord, should make the garments for Aaron and his sons. As regards 'heart', that it means the good of love or celestial good, see 3635, 3880, 3883-3896, 9050; and that it therefore means the will, 2930, 3888, 7542, 8910, 9113, 9300, 9495.

1155. And horses and carriages signifies profaned worship from truths and goods that are from a rational origin. This is evident from the signification of "horses," as being things intellectual (See n. 355, 364, 372, 373, 381, 382, 575, 923), thus also truths that are from a rational origin, for things of the understanding belong to truth and reason. Also from the signification of "carriages" as being goods from a rational origin, because they are drawn by horses, which signify truths from that origin; for carriages are a kind of chariot, and "chariots" signify doctrinals (See n. 355), and when these are drawn by truths, as chariots are by horses, they are goods, for doctrines teach both truths and goods.

[2] "Carriages" have a like signification in Isaiah:

Then shall they bring all your brethren out of all nations a present unto Jehovah, upon horses and upon the chariot, and upon covered carriages, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to the mountain of My holiness, Jerusalem (Isaiah 66:20).

"Horses, chariot, covered carriages, mules, and swift beasts" mean in the spiritual sense things of doctrine, and thus of the church, for this treats of a new church to be established by the Lord. For "horses" signify intellectual things, "chariot" doctrine, "covered carriages" doctrinals of good, "mules" things rational, and "swift beasts" things rational as to good; "the brethren" whom they will bring signify all who are in the good of charity, and "Jerusalem the mountain of holiness" signifies the church in which charity reigns. These things profaned are here signified because they belong to Babylon, which signifies the profanation of truth and good.

(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord)

[3] 6. The sixth law of the Divine providence is, That man is not reformed by external means but by internal means; by external means miracles and visions, also fears and punishments are meant. By internal means truths and goods from the Word and from the doctrine of the church, and looking to the Lord, are meant; for these means enter by an internal way, and cast out the evils and falsities that have their seat within; but external means enter by an external way, and do not cast out evils and falsities, but shut them in. Nevertheless, man may be further reformed by external means when he has previously been reformed by internal means. This follows from the above mentioned laws, namely, that man is reformed by means of freedom, and not without freedom, also that to compel oneself is from freedom, but to be compelled is not, and man is compelled by miracles and visions, and also by fears and punishments; but miracles and visions compel the external of his spirit, which consists in thinking and willing; and fears and punishments compel the external of his body, which consists in speaking and doing. This may be compelled, because man nevertheless thinks and wills freely; but the external of his spirit, which consists in thinking and willing, must not be compelled, for thus perishes his internal freedom by which he is reformed.

[4] If man could have been reformed by miracles and visions, all in the whole world would have been reformed. It is therefore a holy law of the Divine providence that internal freedom should in no way be violated; for by that freedom the Lord enters into man, even into the hell where he is, and by it leads him while in hell, and if he is willing to follow, leads him out of hell and leads him into heaven, and nearer and nearer to Himself in heaven. In this and in no other way is man led out of infernal freedom, which regarded in itself is slavery, because it is from hell, and is led into heavenly freedom, which is freedom itself, becoming by degrees more free, and at length most free, because it is from the Lord who wills that man should not be in the least compelled. This is the way of man's reformation, but this way is closed by miracles and visions.

[5] Nor is the freedom of man's spirit ever violated, to the end that his evils, both hereditary and actual, may be removed; which can be done only when man compels himself, as has been said above. These evils are removed by the Lord by means of the affection of truth inspired in man from which he has intelligence, and by means of the affection of good through which he has love. So far as a man is in these affections, so far he compels himself to resist evils and falsities. And this way of reformation is closed by miracles and visions, for they persuade and compel belief, and thus send the thoughts bound as it were to prison; and when freedom has thus been taken away there can be no ability from the interior to remove evils, for nothing of evil is removed except from the interior. Thus evils remain shut in, and from their infernal freedom, which they love, they continually act against those truths and goods that miracles and visions have repressed, and at length dissipate them, calling miracles the interior operations of nature and visions the deliriums of fantasy, and truths and goods fallacies and mockeries; for such is the action of the evils that are shut in upon the externals that shut them in. And yet superficial thought may lead a man to believe that miracles and visions, although they persuade, do not take away freedom of thinking; but with those not reformed they do take it away, while with the reformed they do not take it away, for with such they do not shut evils in, but with those not reformed they do.