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.

1616. And Abram pitched his tent, and came and dwelt in the oak-groves of Mamre that are in Hebron. That this signifies that the Lord attained to a perception still more internal, is evident from the signification of “pitching a tent,” that is, of moving and fixing a tent, as being to be conjoined,—for a “tent” is the holy of worship (as shown before, n. 414, 1452), by which the external man is conjoined with the internal-and from the signification of an “oak-grove,” as being perception, as explained above (n. 1442, 1443), where it was “the oak-grove of Moreh,” which is the first perception; but here, “the oak-groves of Mamre,” in the plural, which signify more perception, that is, perception more internal. This perception is called “the oak-groves of Mamre that are in Hebron.” “Mamre” is also mentioned elsewhere (as in Genesis 14:13; 18:1; 23:17-19; 35:27), and Hebron likewise (as in Genesis 35:27; 37:14; Josh. 10:36, 39; 14:13-14, 15; 15:13, 54; 20:7; 21:11, 13; Judges 1:10, 20; and in other places); but with what signification, will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be seen where these passages are explained.

[2] As to “the oak-groves of Mamre that are in Hebron” signifying a still more internal perception, the case is as follows. As the things that are of the external man are conjoined with the celestial things of the internal man, so perception increases and becomes more internal. Conjunction with celestial things gives perception; for in the celestial things that are of love to Jehovah is the very life of the internal man; or what is the same, in the celestial things that are of love, that is, in celestial love, Jehovah is present, which presence is not perceived in the external man until conjunction has been effected, all perception being from conjunction.

[3] From the internal sense it is here evident how the case was with the Lord, namely, that His external man, or the Human Essence, was conjoined with the Divine Essence by degrees, according to the multiplication and fructification of knowledges. In no way can anyone, as a man, be conjoined with Jehovah or the Lord, except by means of knowledges, for by means of knowledges a man becomes a man; and so the Lord, because born as are other men, was also instructed as they are, but into His knowledges as receptacles celestial things were constantly being insinuated, so that the knowledges continually became the recipient vessels of celestial things, and themselves also became celestial.

[4] He continually advanced in this way to the celestial things of infancy for, as before said, the celestial things that are of love are insinuated from the earliest infancy up to childhood, and also to youth, when being a man he is then and afterwards imbued with knowledges [scientiae et cognitiones]. If the man is such that he can be regenerated, these knowledges are then filled with the celestial things that are of love and charity, and are thus implanted in the celestial things with which he has been gifted from infancy up to childhood and youth; and thus his external man is conjoined with his internal man.

They are first implanted in the celestial things with which he was gifted in youth, next in those with which he was gifted in childhood, and finally in those with which he was gifted in infancy; and then he is a “little child,” of whom the Lord said that “of such is the kingdom of God.” This implantation is effected by the Lord alone; and for this reason nothing celestial is possible with man, nor can be, that is not from the Lord, and that is not the Lord’s.

[5] But the Lord from His own power conjoined His external man with His internal man, and filled His knowledges with celestial things, and implanted them in the celestial things, and this in fact according to Divine order; first in the celestial things of His childhood, next in the celestial things of the age between childhood and infancy; and finally in the celestial things of His infancy; and thus at the same time became, as to the Human Essence, innocence itself and love itself, from which are all innocence and all love in the heavens and on earth. Such innocence is true infancy, because it is at the same time wisdom. But the innocence of infancy, unless by means of knowledges it becomes the innocence of wisdom, is of no use; and therefore in the other life infants are imbued with knowledges. As the Lord implanted knowledges in celestial things, so had He perception, for, as before said, all perception is from conjunction. He had His first perception when He implanted the memory-knowledges of childhood, which perception is signified by “the oak-grove of Moreh;” and His second, treated of here, which is more internal, when He implanted knowledges, which perception is signified by “the oak-groves of Mamre that are in Hebron.”