946. For Thy judgments have been made manifest, signifies that Divine truths have been revealed to them. This is evident from the signification of "judgments," as being Divine truths (of which presently); also from the signification of "made manifest," as being to be revealed. That Divine truths are revealed at the end of the church, and that they have been revealed, will be shown in what follows in this chapter, because this is there treated of. "Judgments" signify Divine truths because the laws of government in the Lord's spiritual kingdom are called "judgments;" while the laws of government in His celestial kingdom are called "justice." For the laws of government in the Lord's spiritual kingdom are laws from the Divine truth; while the laws of government in the Lord's celestial kingdom are laws from the Divine good. This is why "judgment" and "justice" are mentioned in the Word, in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Of peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David, to establish it, and to uphold it in judgment and in justice from henceforth and to eternity (Isaiah 9:7).

This is said of the Lord and His kingdom. His spiritual kingdom is signified by "the throne of David;" and because this kingdom is in Divine truths from Divine good it is said, "in judgment and in justice."

In Jeremiah:

I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign King, and He shall act intelligently, and shall do judgment and justice (Jeremiah 23:5).

This, too, is said of the Lord, and of His spiritual kingdom. And as this kingdom is in Divine truths from Divine good it is said, "He shall reign king, and shall act intelligently, and He shall do judgment and justice." The Lord is called "King," from Divine truth; and as Divine truth is also Divine intelligence it is said that "He shall act intelligently." And as the Divine truth is from the Divine good it is said that "He shall do judgment and justice."

[2] In Isaiah:

Jehovah is exalted, for He dwelleth on high, He hath filled Zion with judgment and justice (Isaiah 33:5).

"Zion" means heaven and the church, where the Lord reigns by the Divine truth; and as all the Divine truth is from the Divine good it is said, "He hath filled Zion with judgment and justice."

In Jeremiah:

I Jehovah doing judgment and justice in the earth; for in these things I am well pleased (Jeremiah 9:24).

Here, too, "judgment and justice" signify the Divine truth from the Divine good.

In Isaiah:

They ask of me the judgments of justice, they long for an approach unto God (5 Isaiah 58:2).

The "judgments of justice" are Divine truths from the Divine good, as are "judgment and justice;" for the spiritual sense conjoins things that the sense of the letter separates.

In Hosea:

I will betroth thee unto Me forever; and I will betroth thee unto Me in justice and in judgment and in mercy and in truth (Hosea 2:19, 20).

This treats of the Lord's celestial kingdom, which consists of those who are in love to the Lord; and as the Lord's conjunction with such is comparatively like the conjunction of a husband with a wife, for so does the good of love conjoin, it is said, "I will betroth thee unto Me in justice and in judgment," "justice" being put here in the first place, and "judgment" in the second, because those who are in the good of love to the Lord are also in truths; for they see truths from good. As "justice" is predicated of good, and "judgment" of truth, it is also said, "in mercy and in truth," "mercy" belonging to good, because it is of love.

[3] In David:

Jehovah is in the heavens. Thy justice is like the mountains of God, and Thy judgments are like the great deep (Psalms 36:5-6).

"Justice" is predicated of the Divine good, and is therefore compared to "the mountains of God;" for "mountains of God" signify the goods of love (See above, n. 405, 510, 850); and "judgments" are predicated of Divine truths, and are therefore compared to "the great deep;" for "the great deep" signifies the Divine truth. From this it can now be seen that "judgments" signify Divine truths.

[4] In many passages in the Word, "judgments," "commandments," and "statutes" are mentioned; and "judgments" there signify civil laws, "commandments" the laws of spiritual life, and "statutes" the laws of worship. That "judgments" signify civil laws, is evident from Exodus (21, 22, 23), where the things commanded are called "judgments" because according to them the judges gave judgments in the gates of the city; nevertheless they signify Divine truths, such as are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom in the heavens, for they contain these in the spiritual sense; as can be (Arcana Coelestia 8971-9103) seen (Arcana Coelestia 9124-9231) from (Arcana Coelestia 9247-9348) the explanation of them in the Arcana Coelestia 8971-9103, 9124-9231, 9247-9348). That the laws given to the sons of Israel were called "judgments, "commandments," and "statutes," can be seen from the following passages.

In Moses:

I will speak unto thee all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them (Deuteronomy 5:31).

In the same:

These are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which Jehovah your God commanded to teach you (Deuteronomy 6:1).

In the same:

Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them (Deuteronomy 7:11).

In David:

If his sons forsake My law and walk not in My judgments, if they profane My statutes and keep not My commandments, then will I visit their transgression with the rod (Psalms 89:30-32).

So in many other places, as Leviticus 18:5; 19:37; 20:22; 25:18; 26:15; Deuteronomy 4:1; 5:1, 6, 7; 17:19; 26:17; Ezekiel 5:6, 7; 11:12, 20; 18:9; 20:11, 13, 25; 37:24. In these passages "commandments" mean the laws of life, especially those contained in the Decalogue, which are therefore called the Ten Commandments; while "statutes" mean the laws of worship which related especially to sacrifices and holy ministrations; and "judgments" mean civil laws; and as these laws were representative of spiritual laws, they signify such Divine truths as are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom in the heavens.

[5] It follows from this that when man shuns and turns away from evils as sins and is raised up into heaven by the Lord, he is no longer in what is his own (proprium), but in the Lord, and thus he thinks and wills goods. Again, since man acts as he thinks and wills, for every act of man proceeds from the thought of his will, it follows that when he shuns and turns away from evils, he does goods from the Lord and not from self; and this is why shunning evils is doing goods. The goods that a man then does are meant by good works; and good works in their whole complex are meant by charity. Man cannot be reformed unless he thinks, wills, and does as if from himself, since that which is done as if by the man himself is conjoined to him and remains with him, while that which is not done by the man as if from himself, not being received in any life of sense, flows through like ether; and this is why the Lord wills that man should not only shun and turn away from evils as if of himself, but should also think, will, and do as if of himself, and yet acknowledge in heart, that all these things are from the Lord. This he must acknowledge because it is the truth.

9125. 'If a thief is caught digging through' means if it is not apparent that good or truth is being taken away. This is clear from the meaning of 'digging through' as perpetrating evil in concealment, and - when said of a thief - as taking away good or truth by means of falsity arising from evil so as not to be seen, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'a thief' as one who takes away good and truth, dealt with in 5135, 8906, 9018, 9020, and in the abstract sense as truth or good that has been taken away. The term 'abstract sense' is used because angels, who see the internal sense of the Word, think in abstraction from persons, 5225, 5287, 5434, 8343, 8985, 9007. The Word too in its internal sense has spiritual realities instead of worldly objects, without any narrowing down to persons or places.

[2] As regards the meaning of 'digging through' as perpetrating evil in concealment, and - when said of a thief - as taking away good or truth by means of falsity arising from evil so as not to be seen, all this is evident from the consideration that a distinction is drawn here between a theft committed by digging through and a theft committed when the sun has risen, spoken of in the next verse. That 'digging through' has this meaning is also clear from places in the Word in which the expression occurs, as in Jeremiah,

Yes, in your skirts the blood of poor innocent souls is found. I have found those things not by digging through but on them all. Jeremiah 2:34.

This refers to foul kinds of love and the evils resulting from them. 'I have found those things not by digging through' stands for not discovering them by investigating secretly. Therefore it says those things are 'on them all', that is, they are visible everywhere. In Ezekiel,

He brought me to the door of the court, where I looked, and behold, a hole in the wall. He said to me, Dig, now, through the wall. I therefore dug through the wall, and behold, a door. Ezekiel 8:7-8.

This refers to the abominations of the house of Israel which they performed secretly. 'Digging through the wall' means going in secretly and seeing what they do. In Amos,

If they dig through into hell, from there My hand will take them. Or if they mount up into heaven, from there I will throw them down. Amos 9:2.

'Digging through into hell' means hiding oneself there, and so among falsities arising from evil. Hell consists in falsity arising from evil, since that falsity reigns there. The falsities there are called darkness, within which they hide away from the light of heaven; for they flee from the light of heaven, which is Divine Truth from the Lord. In Job,

The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight, saying, No eye will see me. And he will put on a covering for his face. He digs through ¹ houses in the darkness. In the daytime they mark [them] for themselves; they do not acknowledge the light. For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death, since they acknowledge the terrors of the shadow of death. Job 24:15-17.

Here 'digging through houses' plainly stands for secretly plundering another's goods. For it says that 'he digs through houses in the darkness'; that he watches for twilight, so that no eye may see him; that he puts a covering on his face; they do not acknowledge the light; also that the morning is the shadow of death to them.

[3] The use of 'digging through a house' to mean secretly taking away another's good has its origin in representatives in the next life. There when angels are talking about falsity secretly destroying good, this destruction appears as the digging through of a wall when it is represented on a lower level, where the things angels talk about are manifested in visual images. On the other hand, when angels are talking about truth approaching good and linking itself to it, that approach is represented as an open door through which people enter. This is why the Lord, who spoke in accordance with representatives in heaven and in accordance with correspondences, says in John,

Truly, truly, I say to you, He who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. John 10:1-2.

And in Luke,

Know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming he would certainly have been awake and would not have permitted his house to be dug through. ² Luke 12:39.

Here also 'the thief' is one who destroys forms of the good of faith by means of falsities. 'Digging through a house' means carrying out such destruction secretly, since it is done when the householder is not awake. So it is also that coming like a thief means coming without being recognized, because he does not come through the door but by some other way. In John,

If you are not awake I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. Revelation 3:3.

And in the same book,

Behold, I am coming like a thief; blessed is he who is awake. Revelation 16:15.

'Coming like a thief' means coming without being recognized and unexpectedly.

The Lord is spoken of in such a way because the meaning is that the door in a person is closed by falsity arising from evil.

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