238. And miserable and poor, signifies that they do not know that they have neither knowledges of truth nor knowledges of good. This is evident from the signification of "miserable" or "pitiable," as meaning those who are in no knowledges of truth; and from the signification of "poor" as meaning those who are in no knowledges of good. That this is the meaning of "miserable" and "poor" is evident from many passages in the Word, and also from this, that spiritual misery and poverty are nothing else than a lack of the knowledges of truth and good, for the spirit is then miserable and poor; but when the spirit possesses these it is rich and wealthy; therefore also "riches" and "wealth" in the Word signifies spiritual riches and wealth, which are the knowledges of truth and good (as was shown just above, n. 236).

[2] "Miserable and poor" are terms used in many passages in the Word. He who is ignorant of the spiritual sense of the Word believes that by these no others are meant than the miserable and poor in the world. These, however, are not meant, but those who are not in truths and goods and in the knowledges thereof; and by the "miserable" indeed, those who are not in truths because not in the knowledges of truths, and by the "poor" those who are not in goods because not in the knowledges of goods. As these two, truths and goods, are meant by these two expressions, the two in many places are mentioned together; as in the passages that now follow. In David:

I am miserable and poor, Lord, remember me (Psalms 40:17; 70:5). Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, answer me, for I am miserable and poor (Psalms 86:1).

The "miserable and poor" here mean evidently those who are miserable and poor, not in respect to worldly riches but in respect to spiritual riches, as David says this of himself; therefore he also said, "Jehovah, incline thine ear, and answer me."

[3] In the same:

The wicked draw out the sword and bend their bow, to cast down the miserable and poor (Psalms 37:14).

Here also "the miserable and poor" mean evidently those who are spiritually such and yet long for the knowledges of truth and good, for it is said that "the wicked draw out the sword and bend the bow," "sword" signifying falsity combating against truth and striving to destroy it, and "bow" the doctrine of falsity fighting against the doctrine of truth; therefore it is said that they do this "to cast down the miserable and poor." (That "sword" signifies truth combating against falsity, and in a contrary sense, falsity combating against truth, see above, n. 131; and that "bow" signifies doctrine in both senses, see Arcana Coelestia 2686, 2709)

[4] So in another place in the same:

The wicked man hath persecuted the miserable and poor and the broken in heart, to slay them (Psalms 109:16).

In Isaiah:

The fool speaketh folly, and his heart doeth iniquity to practice hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul, and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want. He counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment (Isaiah 32:6-7).

Here likewise "the miserable and poor" mean those who are destitute of the knowledges of truth and good; therefore it is said that "the wicked counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by the words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment;" "by the words of a lie" means by falsities, and "to speak judgment" is to speak what is right. Because such are treated of, it is also said that he "practices hypocrisy and speaketh error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want." "To practice hypocrisy and to speak error" is to do evil from falsity, and to speak falsity from evil; "to make empty the hungry soul" is to deprive those of the knowledges of good who long for them, and "to make him who thirsteth for drink to want" is to deprive those of the knowledges of truth who long for them.

In the same:

The miserable shall have joy in Jehovah, and the poor of men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 29:19).

Here also "the miserable and poor" signify those who are in lack of truth and good and yet long for them; of these, and not of those who are miserable and poor in respect to worldly wealth, it is said that they "shall have joy in Jehovah, and shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."

[5] From this it can be seen what is signified by the "miserable and poor" in other passages of the Word, as in the following. In David:

The poor shall not always be forgotten; and the hope of the miserable shall not perish for ever (Psalms 9:18).

In the same:

God shall judge the miserable of the people, He shall save the sons of the poor. He shall deliver the poor when he crieth, and the miserable. He shall spare the weak and the poor, and the souls of the poor He shall save (Psalms 72:4, 12-13).

In the same:

The miserable shall see, they that seek Jehovah ¹ shall be glad. For Jehovah heareth the poor (Psalms 69:32-33).

In the same:

Jehovah deliverest the miserable from him that is too strong for him, the poor from them that despoil him (Psalms 35:10).

In the same:

The miserable and the poor praise Thy name (Psalms 74:21; 109:22).

In the same:

I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the miserable, and the judgment of the poor (Psalms 140:12).

Also elsewhere (as Isaiah 10:2; Jeremiah 22:16; Ezekiel 16:49; 18:12; 22:29; Amos 8:4; Deuteronomy 15:11; 24:14). "The miserable" and "the poor" are both mentioned in these passages, because it is according to the style of the Word that where truth is spoken of, good is also spoken of; and in a contrary sense, where falsity is spoken of, evil is also spoken of, since they make a one, and as if it were a marriage; this is why "the miserable and the poor" are mentioned together; for, by "the miserable" those deficient in the knowledges of truth are meant, and by "the poor" those deficient in the knowledges of good. (That there is such a marriage almost everywhere in the prophetical parts of the Word, see Arcana Coelestia 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314.)

For the same reason it is said in what follows, "and blind and naked;" for by "the blind" one who is in no understanding of truth is meant, and by "the naked" one who is in no understanding and will of good. So in the following verse, "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried by fire, and white garments that thou mayest be clothed;" for by "gold tried by fire" the good of love is meant, and by "white garments" the truths of faith. And further, "That the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see," which means, lest evils and falsities be seen. So also elsewhere. But that there is such a marriage in the particulars of the Word, none but those who know its internal sense can see.

Poznámky pod čarou:

8573. 'And Moses cried out to Jehovah, [saying]' means deep grief, and intercession. This is clear from the meaning of 'crying out' - when it refers to the Divine aid which the people demanded in their misery and grief - as deep grief, as also previously in 7782, and intercession, as in 8179. Since 'Moses cried out to Jehovah' means intercession by Divine Truth, which 'Moses' represents, what intercession is and the nature of it must be stated briefly. People who do not know what intercession is can have no other conception of it than this, that the Lord constantly prays to the Father and intercedes for the sinner who pleads in a devout manner and promises to repent. Indeed the simple think that the Lord sits with the Father and speaks to Him about a sinner, asking the Father to give Him that sinner to be in His kingdom and possess eternal happiness. An idea such as this is what very many have about intercession referred to in the Word, where it says that the Lord will entreat the Father on their behalf. But who can fail to see that human ways of thinking were being used in what was said? For everyone at that time, like very many also at the present day, could think of a heavenly kingdom only as they think of an earthly kingdom. The latter serves them to gain an idea of the former. This is plainly evident from the Lord's apostles themselves - from James and John, who asked to sit one on His right, the other on His left in His kingdom, Mark 10:35-37; and also from the rest of the apostles, among whom a quarrel arose over which of them was to be greatest in His kingdom, and to whom the Lord said that they would eat and drink at His table in His kingdom, and that they would sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, Luke 22:24, 30, and therefore that they would reign with Him. The things He said, it is evident, were adapted to their way of thinking and so to their ability to grasp them; but in the interior sense those things had a different meaning, which could not be made known at that time. What twelve thrones with the apostles seated on them mean, see 2129, 6397.

[2] As regards the nature of intercession, all love holds intercession within it, and so does all mercy since mercy is the characteristic of love. Anyone who has love or who has mercy is interceding constantly, as the following examples demonstrate: The husband who loves his wife wishes her to be well-received and well-treated by others. He does not express his wish in actual words, but it is constantly in his thinking, so that he is silently requesting it and interceding for her. Parents do the same thing for their children whom they love. It is likewise what a person governed by charity does for his neighbour, and what one moved by friendship does for a friend. These examples show that intercession is present unceasingly in all love. The same is true of the Lord's intercession for the human race, especially for those with whom the goodness and truth of faith are present; for towards them Divine - that is, infinite - love is shown, and Divine - that is, infinite - mercy. Not that the Lord prays to the Father for them and intercedes in that way; for then He would be acting in an entirely human manner. Rather He is constantly excusing and constantly forgiving, because He is constantly showing mercy; this the Lord Himself is doing since the Lord and the Father are one, John 14:8-12.

[3] An arcanum that lies even more deeply concealed within the word 'intercession' must also be mentioned. Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord intercedes constantly in such a way because it emanates from Divine Love. While the Lord was in the world He was Divine Truth; but now that He has been glorified, which was accomplished when He rose again, He is Divine Good, 7499. Divine Good is what is meant in the Word in the internal sense by 'the Father', and Divine Truth by 'the Son', 2803, 3704, 7499. And since Divine Truth, which emanates from Divine Good, holds constant intercession within it, the Son is said to entreat the Father and to intercede for a person. People were able to grasp the latter notion of the Son, but the former idea of Divine Truth only with difficulty.