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.

5658. 'Our silver in its full weight' means truths commensurate with each one's state. This is clear from the meaning of 'silver' as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2954; and from the meaning of 'weight' as the state of something as regards good, dealt with in 3104, so that truths commensurate with each one's state means commensurate with the good they are able to receive. Many places in the Word make reference to weights or to measures, but no weight nor any measure is meant in the internal sense. Rather states so far as the good involved in some reality is concerned are meant by 'weights', while states so far as the truth involved in it is concerned are meant by 'measures'. The same applies to the properties of gravity and spatial magnitude; gravity in the natural world corresponds to good in the spiritual world, and spatial magnitude to truth. The reason for this is that in heaven, where correspondences originate, neither the property of gravity nor that of spatial magnitude exists because space has no existence there. Objects possessing these properties do, it is true, seem to exist among spirits, but those objects are appearances that have their origins in the states of goodness and truth in the heaven above those spirits.

[2] It was very well known in ancient times that 'silver' meant truth; therefore the ancients divided up periods of time ranging from the earliest to the latest world epochs into the golden ages, the silver ones, the copper ones, and the iron ones, to which they also added the clay ones. They applied the expression 'golden ages' to those periods when innocence and perfection existed, when everyone was moved by good to do what was good and by righteousness to do what was right. They used 'silver ages' however to describe those times when innocence did not exist any longer, though there was still some sort of perfection, which did not consist in being moved by good to do what was good but in being moved by truth to do what was true. 'Copper ages' and 'iron ages' were the names they gave to the times that were even more inferior than the silver ones.

[3] What led those people to give periods of time these names was not comparison but correspondence. For the ancients knew that 'silver' corresponded to truth and 'gold' to good; they knew this from being in communication with spirits and angels. For when a discussion takes place in a higher heaven about what is good, this reveals itself among those underneath them in the first or lowest heaven as what is golden; and when a discussion takes place about what is true this reveals itself there as what is silvery. Sometimes not only the walls of the rooms where they live are gleaming with gold and silver but also the very air within them. Also, in the homes of those angels belonging to the first or lowest heaven who are moved by good to live among what is good, tables made of gold, lampstands made of gold, and many other objects are seen; but in the homes of those who are moved by truth to live among what is true, similar objects made of silver are seen. But who at the present day knows that correspondence was what led the ancients to call ages golden ones and silver ones? Indeed who at the present day knows anything at all about correspondence? Anyone who does not know this about the ancients, and more so anyone who thinks pleasure and wisdom lie in contesting whether such an idea is true or untrue, cannot begin to know the countless facets there are to correspondence.