3187. And may thy seed inherit the gate of those that hate thee. That this signifies the Lord’s spiritual kingdom derived from the marriage of good and truth in the Divine Human, to which kingdom pertain charity and faith where before were evil and falsity, may appear from what was said and explained above (n. 2851), where nearly the same words occur. That “seed” denotes those who are called the spiritual, thus in the universal sense all who constitute the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, or what is the same, that kingdom itself, is evident from the signification of “seed,” as being charity and faith (see n. 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940), and accordingly those who are in charity through faith (for that these are the spiritual, may be seen above, n. 2088, 2184, 2507, 2708, 2715, 2954; also that these have charity and faith from the marriage of good and truth in the Lord’s Divine Human, thus that they have salvation therefrom, n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834).

[2] In the Ancient Church this was a customary devout wish to a betrothed virgin, when she was going to be married: “Be thou for thousands of ten thousands, and may thy seed inherit the gate of thine enemies,” or of “them that hate thee;” but the wise ones of that church by these words understood spiritual things; namely, that when they entered into the marriage of good and truth, that is, when they were regenerate, then goods and truths would be fructified to thousands of ten thousands, that is, immeasurably; and that charity and faith would succeed in the place where evil and falsity were before; but when the wisdom of the Ancient Church expired, they then no longer received from this devout wish any spiritual sense, but a wholly worldly sense, namely, that the posterity might be innumerable, and that it might take possession of and inherit the land of the Gentiles. Pre-eminently did the descendants of Jacob so understand these words; and they confirmed themselves in so doing by the fact that they not only increased immensely, but also inherited the land, which was to them the gate of their enemies; not knowing that all these things were representative, that is, representative of the Lord’s celestial and spiritual kingdom, and that on the expulsion thence of evils and falsities there would succeed in their place good and truth; which meaning will clearly appear when of the Lord’s Divine mercy these representatives are opened.

[3] In particular, that is, with every man who becomes a kingdom of the Lord, the case also is this: Before he becomes this kingdom, that is, before he is being regenerated, he is inwardly nothing but evil and falsity; and infernal and diabolical spirits have possession of that which is called the “gate” (concerning which see n. 2851); but when he is becoming a kingdom of the Lord, that is, when he is being regenerated, then evils and falsities, or what is the same, infernal and diabolical spirits, are driven out, and good and truth enter and inherit that place; and then there is in him a conscience of good and truth. And as the case is in particular, so also is it in general. From all this it is evident what is meant in the internal sense by the above words.

1914. My wrong be upon thee; I gave my handmaid into thy bosom. That this signifies unwillingness to take blame upon itself, is evident without explication. In the internal sense there is involved in these words that the Lord perceived this first rational to be such as to lightly esteem intellectual truth, on which account He rebuked it. For the Lord thought from intellectual truth, as before said (n. 1904); and because this truth is above the rational, it could perceive and see the quality of this rational, namely, that it held that truth in low esteem.

[2] That the Lord could perceive and see from the interior man what was the quality of the new rational in Himself, may be seen from the fact that the interior can perceive what takes place in the exterior, or what is the same, that the higher can see what is in the lower; but not the reverse. Moreover they who have conscience can do this and are accustomed to do it, for when anything contrary to the truth of conscience flows into the thought, or into the endeavor of the will, they not only perceive it, but also find fault with it; and it even grieves them to be of such a character. Still more can those do this who have perception, as perception is more interior in the rational. What then could not the Lord do, who had Divine celestial perception, and thought from the affection of intellectual truth, which is above the rational! Therefore He could not but be indignant, knowing that nothing of evil and falsity was from Himself, and that from the affection of truth He took the greatest pains that His rational should be pure. This shows that the Lord did not lightly esteem intellectual truth, but that He perceived the first rational in Himself to be thinking lightly of it.

[3] What it is to think from intellectual truth cannot be explained to the apprehension, and the less so because no one but the Lord ever thought from this affection and from this truth. He who thinks therefrom is above the angelic heaven, for even the angels of the third heaven do not think from intellectual truth, but from the interior of the rational. But so far as the Lord united His Human Essence to His Divine Essence, He thought from the Divine good itself, that is, from Jehovah.

[4] The fathers of the Most Ancient Church who had perception, thought from the interior rational. The fathers of the Ancient Church, who had not perception but conscience, thought from the exterior or natural rational. But all who are without conscience do not think at all from the rational, since they have not the rational, although they appear to have it; but they think from the sensuous and corporeal natural. The reason why they who have no conscience cannot think from the rational, is that they have no rational, as just said. The rational man is he who thinks the good and truth of faith, and by no means he who thinks contrary thereto. They who think evil and falsity are insane in their thought, and therefore the rational can by no means be predicated of them.