8330. 'The sanctuary, O Lord, [which] Your hands have prepared' means the heaven where those guided by the truth of faith coming from the Lord are. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sanctuary' as the heaven where the truth of faith resides, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'Your hands have prepared' as that which comes from the Lord. The reason why the words 'hands have prepared' are used in connection with 'the sanctuary' is that 'hands' have reference to truth and mean power. For 'hands' and their reference to truth, see 3091, 8281; for their meaning as power, 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6292, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8069, 8153, 8281; and for 'the sanctuary', that this in a similar way has reference to truth, 8302. But the words which come immediately before - 'a place for You to dwell in' and 'You have made, O Jehovah' - have reference to good because they apply to 'mountain of inheritance', which means the heaven in which the good of charity resides, 8327. There are expressions which when used in the Word have reference to good, and there are expressions which have reference to truth, see 8314.

[2] What is implied by the heaven in which the good of charity resides, meant by 'mountain of inheritance', and what is implied by the heaven in which the truth of faith resides, meant by 'the sanctuary', must be stated briefly. The heaven in which the good of charity resides is that which is inhabited by the more internal members of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and the heaven in which the truth of faith resides is that which is inhabited by the more external members of that kingdom. The internal members are those in whom charity itself resides and faith rooted in charity, whereas the external members are those in whom faith resides but not as yet charity. The latter are moved to do good by a sense of obedience, but the former by affection. These few details show what one should understand by the heaven in which the good of charity resides and the heaven in which the truth of faith resides.

[3] As regards 'the sanctuary', in the highest sense it means the truth of faith which comes from the Lord. From this it means in the representative sense the Lord's spiritual kingdom, also the spiritual Church, and therefore a regenerated person who is an embodiment of the Church, and so means in the sense abstracted from these the truth of faith, thus faith itself. For what 'sanctified' or 'holy' means, see above in 8302. So it is then that the truth of faith which comes from the Lord is what causes heaven to be called 'the sanctuary', as in David,

May Jehovah answer you in the day of trouble. May He send you help from the sanctuary, and sustain you out of Zion. Psalms 20:1-2.

Here 'the sanctuary' stands for the heaven where the truth of faith resides, 'Zion' for the heaven where the good of love resides.

[4] In the same author,

They have seen Your goings, O God, the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. You are frightening, O God - out of [Your] sanctuaries, O God of Israel. Psalms 68:24, 35

'The sanctuary' stands for the heaven where the truth of faith resides. This is why the name 'God', not 'Jehovah', is used, and also 'King'; for 'God' is used where truth is referred to, but 'Jehovah' where good is referred to, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4402, 7010, 7268, and 'king' means truth, 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.

[5] In the same author,

It will praise Jah, for He looked out from the height of His sanctuary. Jehovah looked from the heavens towards the earth to hear the groaning of him who was bound, to open to the sons of death. Psalms 102:18-20.

Here also 'the sanctuary' stands for heaven in respect of the truth of faith. In the same author,

Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the expanse of His strength. Psalms 150:1.

'Praising in the sanctuary' stands for doing so from the truth of faith which comes from the Lord, 'praising in the expanse of strength' from the good of charity which comes from the Lord.

7673. 'Stretch out your hand' means an exercising of power. This is clear from the meaning of 'stretching out' as that which is connected with the exercising of control, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'hand' as power, dealt with in 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, 6292, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518. The reason why 'stretching out the hand' means the exercising of power is that there is power in the hand or arm when it is stretched out. When therefore Jehovah is said to stretch out His hand or arm, boundless or infinite power in action is meant. This explains why Jehovah told Moses on so many occasions, when miracles were to be performed, to stretch out his hand or his rod; for example,

Stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, and they will be blood. Exodus 7:19.

Stretch out your hand over the rivers, and cause frogs to rise up. Exodus 8:1-2. ¹

Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the land, and it will then be lice. Exodus 8:11, 12. ²

Stretch out your hand towards heaven, and there will be hail. Exodus 9:22-23.

Such words would never have been used but for the meaning of 'stretching out the hand' in the highest sense as Jehovah's almighty power.

[2] The same thing is meant by Joshua's being told to stretch out his javelin, described in his book as follows,

Jehovah said to Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand towards Ai. When therefore Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand towards Ai, the ambush rose up quickly out of their place and ran, as soon as he stretched out his hand, and came to the city and took it. Joshua did not withdraw his hand which he had stretched out together with the javelin until all the inhabitants of Ai had been utterly destroyed. Joshua 8:18-19, 26.

Being representative of God's almighty power, this too, like all other representative actions when they were commanded in those times, had force.

[3] There are a number of other places in which almighty power is described when it says that Jehovah 'stretches out His hand', or else His 'outstretched hand' or His 'outstretched arm' is spoken of. It is described by Jehovah stretching out His hand in Isaiah,

The anger [of Jehovah] has been roused against His people, and He has stretched out His hand over them and struck them, and the mountains were shaken. Isaiah 5:25.

In Ezekiel,

I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him. Ezekiel 14:9, 13.

In the same prophet,

I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations. Ezekiel 25:7.

I will stretch out My hand over Edom, and cut off from it man and beast. I will stretch out My hand over the philistines, and cut off . . . Ezekiel 25:13, 16.

Other places like these are Ezekiel 35:3; Isaiah 31:3; Zephaniah 1:4; 2:13. The use of 'outstretched hand' to describe almighty power occurs in Isaiah,

Jehovah's outstretched hand is over all the nations; who will turn it back? Isaiah 14:26, 27.

In Jeremiah,

I will fight with you with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, and in anger and in fury. Jeremiah 21:5.

In Isaiah,

Still His hand is outstretched. Isaiah 9:12, 17; 10:4.

The use of 'outstretched arm' occurs in Jeremiah,

I have made the earth, man, and beast by My great strength and by My outstretched arm. Jeremiah 27:5.

In the same prophet,

You have made heaven and earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm; there is no matter ³ that is too impossible for You. Jeremiah 32:17.

Here it is self-evident that 'outstretched arm' means almighty power. The same applies to many other places in which the expression 'by a strong hand and an outstretched arm' is used, such as Deuteronomy 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:29; 11:2; 26:8; 1 Kings 8:42; 2 Kings 17:36; Jeremiah 32:21; Ezekiel 20:33, 34.

[4] There are places too in which Jehovah is said to 'stretch out the heavens', and in these places also 'stretching out' means almighty power; that is to say, He expands the limits of heaven and fills those who are there with life and wisdom, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens like a thin veil, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:22.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, spreads out the earth, gives breath ⁴ to His people upon it, and spirit to those who walk on it. Isaiah 42:5.

In Jeremiah,

. . . He who makes the earth by His power, prepares the world by His wisdom, and stretches out the heavens by His intelligence. Jeremiah 51:15.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zechariah 12:1.

There are still more places besides these, such as Isaiah 44:24; 45:12; Psalms 104:2.

From all this one may now see why Moses was commanded to stretch out his hand and rod, that miracles were performed when he did so, and that 'stretching out the hand' for that reason means the exercising of power, and in the highest sense almighty power.

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