3382. And kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws. That this signifies by means of continuous revelations from Himself-that is to say, as by means of temptations, so also by means of these revelations the Lord united the Divine Essence to the Human-is evident from the fact that these words, “keeping His charge, commandments, statutes, and laws,” involve all things of the Word, namely, “charge,” all things of the Word in general; “commandments,” the internal things; “statutes,” the external things; and “laws,” all things specifically. Inasmuch as this is predicated of the Lord, who from eternity was the Word, and from whom all these things are, in the internal sense it cannot be signified that He observed these things, but that He revealed them to Himself when He was in a state of unition of the Human with the Divine.

[2] These things do indeed appear at first view rather remote from the sense of the letter, and even from the proximate internal sense; but still when the words are read by man, this is their sense in heaven; for, as occasionally before said, and as may be seen from examples given (n. 1873-1874), in its ascent toward heaven the sense of the letter is put off; and instead of it another heavenly sense comes into view, so different that it cannot be known to be from the same source. For they who are in heaven are in the idea that in the internal sense all things of the Word treat of the Lord; and also that all things of the Word are from the Lord; likewise that when He was in the world the Lord thought from the Divine and thus from Himself, and acquired for Himself all intelligence and wisdom through continuous revelations from the Divine; and therefore from the above words they perceive nothing else. For “keeping the charge, commandments, statutes, and laws” is not predicable of the Lord, because He Himself was the Word, consequently He Himself was the charge, He Himself was the commandment, He Himself the statute, and He Himself the law; for all these things have respect to Him as the First from whom they are derived, and as the Last to whom they tend. Therefore in the supreme sense by the above words nothing else can be signified than the unition of the Lord’s Divine with the Human, through continuous revelations from Himself. (That differently from other men the Lord thought from the Divine, thus from Himself, may be seen above, n. 1904, 1914, 1935; and that He acquired for Himself intelligence and wisdom by means of continuous revelations from the Divine, n. 1616, 2500, 2523, 2632)

[3] That in the genuine sense “keeping the charge” signifies all things of the Word in general; and that “commandments” signify the internal things of the Word; “statutes,” the external things; and “laws,” all things of the Word specifically, may be seen from many passages as viewed in the internal sense; some of which may be adduced. Thus in David:

Blessed are the perfect in the way, who walk in the law of Jehovah. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies. O that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes. I will keep Thy statutes; O forsake me not utterly. With my whole heart have I sought Thee; O let me not wander from Thy commandments. Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee. Blessed art Thou, O Jehovah, teach me Thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of Thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies. I meditate in Thy precepts; and have respect unto Thy ways. I delight myself in Thy statutes; I do not forget Thy Word. Recompense unto Thy servant, that I may live, so will I keep Thy Word. Open Thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law. Hide not Thy commandments from me. Quicken Thou me according to Thy Word. Teach me Thy statutes; make me to understand the way of Thy precepts (Psalms 119:1-27).

Throughout this whole psalm the subject treated of is the Word and the things of the Word, which are manifestly its “precepts,” “statutes,” “judgments,” “testimonies,” “commandments,” and “ways”; but what these signify specifically cannot possibly be seen from the sense of the letter, in which sense they are scarcely more than repetitions of the same thing; but it may be seen from the internal sense, in which one thing is signified by “precepts,” and quite different ones by “statutes,” “judgments,” “testimonies,” “commandments,” and “ways.”

[4] Again in like manner:

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of Jehovah is clean, standing forever; the judgments of Jehovah are truth (Psalms 19:7-9).

And in the first book of Kings:

David charged Solomon his son, saying, Keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and His testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses (1 Kings 2:3).

“Keeping the charge” denotes all things of the Word in general, for it is mentioned in the first place, and looks to the things following as being less general; for “keeping the charge” is the same thing as “keeping that which is to be kept.”

In Moses:

Thou shalt love Jehovah thy God, and keep His charge, and his statutes, and His judgments, and His commandments always (Deuteronomy 11:1); where “keeping His charge,” or keeping that which was to be kept, in like manner denotes all things of the Word in general; “statutes” denote the external things of the Word, such as rituals and those things which are representative and significative of the internal sense; but “commandments,” the internal things of the Word, such as those of life and doctrine, especially those which are of the internal sense. But concerning the signification of “commandments” and “statutes,” of the Lord’s Divine mercy elsewhere.

1904. Sarai, Abram’s wife, took. That this signifies the affection of truth, which in the genuine sense is “Sarai the wife,” is evident from the signification of “Sarai,” as being truth adjoined to good, and from the signification of a “wife,” as being affection (explained above, n. 915, 1468). There are two affections distinct from each other,—affection of good, and affection of truth. When a man is being regenerated the affection of truth has the lead, for he is affected with truth for the sake of good; but when he has been regenerated the affection of good has the lead, and from good he is affected with truth. The affection of good is of the will; the affection of truth is of the understanding. Between these two affections the most ancient people instituted as it were a marriage. Good, or the love of good, they called man as a husband; truth, or the love of truth, they called man as a wife. The comparison of good and truth with marriage has its origin in the heavenly marriage.

[2] Regarded in themselves, good and truth have no life, but they derive their life from love or affection. They are only instrumentalities of life; and such as is the love that affects the good and truth, such is the life; for the whole of life is of love, or affection. Hence it is that “Sarai the wife,” in the genuine sense, signifies the affection of truth. And because in the case before us the intellectual desired the rational as an offspring, and because that which she speaks is of this desire or affection, it is therefore expressly said in this verse, “Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave to Abram, her man,” which there would have been no need of repeating if it did not involve such things in the internal sense, for in themselves these words would be superfluous.

[3] Intellectual truth is distinguished from rational truth, and this from truth in the form of memory-knowledge, as are what is internal, what is intermediate, and what is external. Intellectual truth is internal, rational truth is intermediate, truth of memory-knowledge is external. These are most distinct from each other, because one is more internal than another. With any man whatever, intellectual truth, which is internal, or in his inmost, is not the man’s, but is the Lord’s with the man. From this the Lord flows into the rational, where truth first appears as belonging to man; and through the rational into the memory-knowledge; from which it is evident that man cannot possibly think as of himself from intellectual truth, but only from rational truth and truth of memory-knowledge, because these appear as if they were his.

[4] The Lord alone, when He lived in the world, thought from intellectual truth, for this was His Divine truth in conjunction with Good, or the Divine spiritual in conjunction with the Divine celestial, and herein was the Lord distinguished from every other man. To think from what is Divine as from himself is never possible to man, nor in man, but only in Him who was conceived of Jehovah. Because He thought from intellectual truth, that is, from the love or affection of intellectual truth, from it also He desired the rational, and this is why it is here said that “Sarai, Abram’s wife” (by whom is meant the affection of intellectual truth) “took Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to Abram her husband, for a woman to him.”

[5] The rest of the arcana that are herein cannot be unfolded and explained to the apprehension, because man is in the greatest obscurity, and in fact has no idea at all of the internal things within him, for he makes both the rational and the intellectual to consist in memory-knowledge, and is not aware that these are distinct from each other, so distinct indeed that the intellectual can exist apart from the rational, and also the rational that is derived from the intellectual, apart from the memory-knowledge. This cannot but seem a paradox to those who are in memory-knowledges, but still it is the truth. It is however impossible for anyone to be in the truth that is in the form of memory-knowledge (that is, in the affection of this and the belief in it), unless he is in rational truth, into which and through which the Lord inflows from the intellectual. These arcana do not open to man except in the other life.