4352. 'And fell on his neck' means a second joining together involving everything included within that universal embodiment of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'falling on the neck' as a closer joining together since it is a closer kind of embrace. Furthermore 'the neck' in the internal sense means the influx and communication of interior things with exterior, and therefore means a joining together of them, see 3542, 3603. The reason why this is a joining together of everything - or with everything - within that universal embodiment of truth is that Jacob, to whom 'his' refers here, means the universal embodiment of every kind of truth, 4346.

[2] The joining together of good and truths within the natural is described here, and the nature of that joining together is as follows: Good flows by way of the internal man into the external man, where it joins itself to the truths which have been introduced by way of the external man. For the good which flows in by way of the internal man is the good of love; indeed no good exists, spiritual or celestial, which is not the good of love. Love is the source of such good and the reason why it is called good with man. It is the actual love present within good and going with good that effects any joining together. Unless love were present within and at hand no joining together would ever be possible, for love is nothing other than a spiritual joining together since it is love that brings it about. This love comes from nowhere else than the Lord, for He is the fountain and source of all celestial and spiritual love, and therefore of all good which flows from that love. That love is twofold, celestial and spiritual. Celestial love is love to the Lord, while spiritual love is love to the neighbour and is called charity. These are the kinds of love from which all celestial or spiritual good is derived and which join themselves to truths which are called the truths of faith. For the truths of faith regarded without love are mere sounds devoid of any life; but through love, and so through being joined to the good of love, they receive life. From this it becomes clear that no measure of faith at all exists except with those who have the good of love in them, and that faith exists insofar as love is present.

[3] And since no measure of faith at all exists except with those who have the good of love within them, neither therefore does any confidence or trust exist with them. With people other than those who have love and charity, trust or confidence which is called the trust or confidence of faith is either spurious or else the kind that can exist even with devil-spirits when subject to fear or to anguish, or else to false persuasion resulting from self-love and love of the world. However, even though at the present day faith without the good works of charity has been made the bringer of salvation, people in a remote way still see that the truths of faith have no power to save because those truths are known also by the evil. Therefore they recognize confidence or trust, to which they give the name faith. They call it faith without being aware of what it really is, or that such is possible even with the evil, or that no spiritual confidence exists if it does not flow in by way of the good of love and charity. They are unaware of the fact that such spiritual confidence does not flow in when a person is subject to fear or anguish, or to false persuasion resulting from self-love and love of the world, but when he is in a state of freedom. Nor are they aware that spiritual confidence does not exist in people other than those with whom good has been joined to truths and become deeply rooted during the course of their lives prior to this, and so does not exist in cases of illness, misfortune, danger to life, or when death is at hand. If this confidence or trust which shows itself in a case of compulsion could save a person, then every mortal human being would be saved, for every one is brought with ease to that confidence; indeed there are none to whom the Lord - who desires the salvation of all - would not grant it. But regarding the confidence or trust which is called faith - what it is, the nature of it, and whom it exists with - this must in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed elsewhere.

3603. 'That you will break his yoke from above your neck' means that good would now be the means through which any joining together was effected - and that truth would be the truth of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'breaking the yoke from above the neck' as release. For 'the neck' means influx and communication and consequently a joining together, while 'a yoke above the neck' means a blocking and cutting off, see 3542; so that 'breaking the yoke from above the neck' means release from such blocking and cutting off, and consequently a joining together through good. It also means that truth becomes the truth of good, for when there is no longer any blocking or cutting off, good flows in and joins itself to truth.

[2] What is implied in all this may be seen from what has been stated and shown so far. But because few understand what is meant by the apparent priority of truth, and by the inferiority for the time being of good - the chief reason for their not understanding being that few stop to reflect on such matters, indeed they do not even reflect on the idea that good is distinct and separate from truth - [let some explanation be offered here]. None of those who pursue a life of self-love and love of the world are aware of what good is, for they do not believe in the existence of any other kind of good than that which is a product of that life. And being unaware of what good is they are also unaware of what truth is, for truth is the companion of good. They do, it is true, know from revelation that good consists in loving God and the neighbour, and truth in matters of doctrine drawn from the Word. But because they do not live according to those things they have no perception of that good and truth; for these are known to them but are not actually present in them. Indeed even those persons who are in the process of being regenerated do not know what good is until they have been regenerated. For prior to their regeneration they have supposed that truth is good and that acting in accordance with truth is good, when in fact it is not good that they are doing at that time but truth. While a person is passing through this state he is passing through that state which is described as Jacob and the blessing conferred on him. But once he passes on into the state in which he performs a good action from an affection for good, that is, once he has been regenerated, he passes into that state which is described in the blessing conferred on Esau.

[3] This may be illustrated from what happens to a person in the first and second stages of life, and after that in the third and fourth stages. During the first stage nothing more than his memory is involved in his knowing things in the Word and likewise matters of doctrine regarding faith. During this stage also he believes he is good when he knows many things from the Word and from doctrine and is able to apply some of them not to his own life but to the lives of others. During the second stage when he is more grown up he is not content to know only with his memory things in the Word and matters of doctrine but now begins to reflect on these with his own ability to think, and insofar as he adds anything to these from his own thought he is pleased by it. Consequently he is moved by an affection for truth which originates in some worldly love, which is also a means to his learning further things which would be neglected by him but for that worldly love. During the third stage however, if he is among such people as are able to be regenerated he starts to think about use, and in that case to reflect on what he reads in the Word and absorbs from doctrine for the sake of the use these serve. While he is passing through this state order is reversed; that is to say, truth is no longer placed first quite so much. But during the fourth stage, when it is the stage of his regeneration, because now the state is complete, dealt with in 2636, he loves the Word and matters of doctrine drawn from the Word - that is, he loves truth - for the sake of the good of life, and therefore loves them from a desire for the good of life. Thus good, which up to that time has apparently taken second place, now comes to occupy the first.

[4] The reason why good has apparently taken second place is that it has lain concealed inmostly within the person's entire affection. Nor has it been able to show itself because it has been surrounded by such things as those with which it could not accord, that is to say, by vain and worthless things like those that constitute worldly glory and self-glory. But once he has been regenerated these things depart and the good that has lain inmostly comes so to speak out of prison and enters into those things which are outside, and takes truths to itself, makes them the truths of good, and in this way manifests itself.

[5] During all this time the good present with a person is something which so to speak he does not consciously will, yet is present within his will - present in every detail of his thought and consequently in every detail of his activity. He is not aware of possessing this which he does not consciously will because he does not perceive anything present with himself apart from that which is his own, that is, which he does will. That which he does not will is twofold: on the one hand there is that which he has inherited from father and mother, on the other that which flows in from the Lord by way of heaven. While a person is growing up that which he has inherited from parents manifests itself more and more, if he is such that he does not allow himself to be regenerated. For he draws on evils from his heredity and makes them properly his own. But that which is not consciously willed yet flows from the Lord by way of heaven manifests itself in adult years with those who are being regenerated. With the latter this activity has in the meantime arranged and governed every single detail of thought, and also of will, though that activity has not been apparent.