8676. 'Who has rescued His people from under the hand of the Egyptians' means mercy towards those governed by the good of truth and guided by the truth of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'rescuing' as deliverance, as immediately above in 8675; from the meaning of 'the Egyptians' as those who used falsities to engage in molestation, also dealt with above in 8668; and from the representation of Israel, to whom 'Jehovah's people' refers here, as those who belong to the spiritual Church, dealt with in 8645, and so those who are governed by the good of truth and guided by the truth of good, 7957, 8234. This is of the Lord's mercy, for the words used are 'blessed be Jehovah who has rescued', and 'blessed be Jehovah' means that He is the source of all good flowing from His Divine Love, 8674. Divine Love, the source of the good that comes to a person who is in a state of wretchedness because left to himself he is wholly steeped in evil and sunk in hell, is mercy.

8674. 'And Jethro said, Blessed be Jehovah' means that the Lord is the source of all good. This is clear from the meaning of 'blessed be Jehovah' as the Lord's being the source of all good, dealt with in 1096, 1422, 3140, 'Jehovah' being the Lord, see above in 8671. The reason why 'blessed be Jehovah' means that the Lord is the source of all good is that the blessing which man receives holds within it all the good of eternal life, that is, the good of love to the Lord and towards the neighbour, 3406, 4981. Such good is what constitutes eternal life with a person.