Isaiah 57
1
The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
2
He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.
3
But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.
4
Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,
5
Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
6
Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?
7
Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
8
Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.
9
And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
10
Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.
11
And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?
12
I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
13
When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;
14
And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.
15
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16
For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
17
For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
18
I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
19
I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, Peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.
20
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
Arcana Coelestia # 8153
8153. 'And the children of Israel went out with a lofty hand' means although they had been rescued by God's power from their attempt to bring them under their control. This is clear from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as those who belong to the spiritual Church, that is, who are governed by faith bonded to charity, as immediately above in 8152; from the meaning of 'going out' as being delivered or rescued from the others' attempt to bring them under their control, which attempt is meant by 'pursuing', 8152; and from the meaning of 'a lofty hand' as God's power, for 'hand' means power, 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, 6292, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8069, and 'lofty' means God's. The reason why 'lofty' means God's is that the word is used to indicate heaven, where God is. This is why the Word says of Jehovah or the Lord that He dwells 'in the lofty place' and why He is called 'the Most High', as in Isaiah,
Jehovah is exalted, for He dwells in the lofty place. Isaiah 33:5.
In the same prophet,
Thus said the High and Lofty One inhabiting eternity, whose name is the Holy One, I inhabit the holy and high [place]. Isaiah 57:15.
In David,
Jehovah sent from on high and snatched me away Psalms 18:16.
So it is that Jehovah is called the Most High in Deuteronomy 32:8; Daniel 4:17, 24, 34; 7:18, 22, 25; Psalms 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 46:4; 50:14; 57:2; 82:6. Because 'high' meant heaven, and God in heaven, the worship of God performed by those who belonged to the representative Church was established on mountains and on high places. It was therefore also performed in lofty shrines which they built for themselves, referred to in various places in the historical sections and prophetical parts of the Word, as in Ezekiel,
You built for yourself a lofty shrine, and made a high place for yourself in every street; at every head of a road you built your lofty shrine. Ezekiel 16:24-25, 31.
The reason why God's was meant by 'high' is that the starry heaven was a sign of the angelic heaven, which was also thought to be located there. But the wiser ones among them knew that heaven was not located on high but where the good of love was, and that this resided within a person, wherever he might be. For the meaning of 'high places' as interiors, or forms of good residing in them, see 450, 1735, 2148, 4210, 4599.
