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Lamentaciones 2

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1 COMO oscureció el Señor en su furor a la hija de Sión! Derribó del cielo á la tierra la hermosura de Israel, Y no se acordó del estrado de sus pies en el día de su ira.

2 Destruyó el Señor, y no perdonó; Destruyó en su furor todas las tiendas de Jacob: Echó por tierra las fortalezas de la hija de Judá, Deslustró el reino y sus príncipes.

3 Cortó con el furor de su ira todo el cuerno de Israel; Hizo volver atrás su diestra delante del enemigo; Y encendióse en Jacob como llama de fuego que ha devorado en contorno.

4 Entesó su arco como enemigo, afirmó su mano derecha como adversario, Y mató toda cosa hermosa á la vista: En la tienda de la hija de Sión derramó como fuego su enojo.

5 Fué el Señor como enemigo, destruyó a Israel; Destruyó todos sus palacios, disipó sus fortalezas: Y multiplicó en la hija de Judá la tristeza y lamento.

6 Y quitó su tienda como de un huerto, Destruyó el lugar de su congregación: Jehová ha hecho olvidar en Sión solemnidades y sábados, Y ha desechado en el furor de su ira rey y sacerdote.

7 Desechó el Señor su altar, menospreció su santuario, Ha entregado en mano del enemigo los muros de sus palacios: Dieron grita en la casa de Jehová como en día de fiesta.

8 Jehová determinó destruir el muro de la hija de Sión; Extendió el cordel, no retrajo su mano de destruir: Hizo pues, se lamentara el antemuro y el muro; fueron destruídos juntamente.

9 Sus puertas fueron echadas por tierra, destruyó y quebrantó sus cerrojos: Su rey y sus príncipes están entre las gentes donde no hay ley; Sus profetas tampoco hallaron visión de Jehová.

10 Sentáronse en tierra, callaron los ancianos de la hija de Sión; Echaron polvo sobre sus cabezas, ciñéronse de saco; Las vírgenes de Jerusalem bajaron sus cabezas a tierra.

11 Mis ojos desfallecieron de lágrimas, rugieron mis entrañas, Mi hígado se derramó por tierra por el quebrantamiento de la hija de mi pueblo, Cuando desfallecía el niño y el que mamaba, en las plazas de la ciudad.

12 Decían a sus madres: ¿Dónde está el trigo y el vino? Desfallecían como heridos en las calles de la ciudad, Derramando sus almas en el regazo de sus madres.

13 ¿Qué testigo te traeré, ó á quién te haré semejante, hija de Jerusalem? ¿A quién te compararé para consolarte, oh virgen hija de Sión? Porque grande es tu quebrantamiento como la mar: ¿quién te medicinará?

14 Tus profetas vieron para ti vanidad y locura; Y no descubrieron tu pecado para estorbar tu cautiverio, Sino que te predicaron vanas profecías y extravíos.

15 Todos los que pasaban por el camino, batieron las manos sobre ti; Silbaron, y movieron sus cabezas sobre la hija de Jerusalem, diciendo: ¿Es ésta la ciudad que decían de perfecta hermosura, el gozo de toda la tierra?

16 Todos tus enemigos abrieron sobre ti su boca, Silbaron, y rechinaron los dientes; dijeron: Devoremos: Cierto éste es el día que esperábamos; lo hemos hallado, vímoslo.

17 Jehová ha hecho lo que tenía determinado, Ha cumplido su palabra que él había mandado desde tiempo antiguo: Destruyó, y no perdonó; Y alegró sobre ti al enemigo, Y enalteció el cuerno de tus adversarios.

18 El corazón de ellos clamaba al Señor: Oh muro de la hija de Sión, echa lágrimas como un arroyo día y noche; No descanses, ni cesen las niñas de tus ojos.

19 Levántate, da voces en la noche, en el principio de las velas; Derrama como agua tu corazón ante la presencia del Señor; Alza tus manos á él por la vida de tus pequeñitos, Que desfallecen de hambre en las entradas de todas las calles.

20 Mira, oh Jehová, y considera á quién has hecho así. ¿Han de comer las mujeres su fruto, los pequeñitos de sus crías? ¿Han de ser muertos en el santuario del Señor el sacerdote y el profeta?

21 Niños y viejos yacían por tierra en las calles; Mis vírgenes y mis mancebos cayeron a cuchillo: Mataste en el día de tu furor, degollaste, no perdonaste.

22 Has llamado, como a día de solemnidad, mis temores de todas partes; Y en el día del furor de Jehová no hubo quien escapase ni quedase vivo: Los que crié y mantuve, mi enemigo los acabó

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 316

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316. "And do not harm the oil and the wine." This symbolizes the Lord's provision that they not violate and profane the goods and truths concealed inwardly in the Word.

Oil symbolizes the goodness of love, and wine the truth springing from that goodness. Thus the oil here symbolizes sacred goodness, and the wine sacred truth. The Lord's provision that these not be violated and profaned is symbolized by the people's being told not to harm them. For this instruction came from the midst of the four living creatures, thus from the Lord (no. 314). Whatever the Lord says He also provides. That this is something He provides may be seen in nos. 314 and 255 above.

That oil symbolizes the goodness of love - this we will see in nos. 778, 779 below.

That wine symbolizes the truth springing from that goodness is clear from the following passages:

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes..., buy wine and milk without money... (Isaiah 55:1)

It shall come to pass in that day that the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills flow with milk... (Joel 3:18, cf. Amos 9:13-14)

Joy is taken away... from Carmel, and in the vineyards there will be no singing... No treaders will tread out wine in the presses; I have made their shouting cease. (Isaiah 16:10, cf. Jeremiah 48:32-33)

Carmel symbolizes the spiritual church, because it had vineyards there.

[2] ...wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth... The vinedressers have wailed... (Joel 1:5, 10-11)

Almost the same images occur in Hosea 9:2-3.

He washes his clothing in wine, and His vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are red with wine... (Genesis 49:11-12)

The subject is the Lord, and the wine symbolizes Divine truth. That is why the Lord instituted the Holy Supper, in which the bread symbolizes the Lord in respect to Divine good, and the wine the Lord in respect to Divine truth; and in their recipients the bread symbolizes a sacred goodness, and the wine sacred truth, received from the Lord. Therefore He said,

I say to you, that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you... in My Father's kingdom. (Matthew 26:29, cf. Luke 22:18)

Because bread and wine have these symbolic meanings, so too Melchizedek, going to meet Abram, brought out bread and wine, he being a priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram (Genesis 14:18-19).

[3] The grain offering and drink offering used in sacrifices had similar symbolic meanings, as described in Exodus 29:40, Leviticus 23:12-13, 18-19ff. The grain offering was an offering of wheat flour, thus taking the place of bread, and the drink offering was an offering of wine.

It can be seen from this what these words of the Lord symbolize:

Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins... But they put the... wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. (Matthew 9:17, cf. Luke 5:37-38)

New wine is the Divine truth in the New Testament, thus in the New Church, and the old wine is the Divine truth in the Old Testament, thus in the old church.

A similar idea is symbolized by these words of the Lord at the wedding in Cana of Galilee:

Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now! (John 2:1-10)

[4] Something similar is symbolized by the wine in the Lord's parable concerning the man wounded by thieves, on whose wound the Samaritan poured oil and wine (Luke 10:33-34); for the man wounded by thieves means people whom the Jews wounded spiritually by evils and falsities, and to whom the Samaritan brought aid by pouring oil and wine on their wounds, that is, by teaching them goodness and truth, and as far as possible, healing them.

Sacred truth is symbolized by wine and new wine also elsewhere in the Word, as in Isaiah 1:21-22; 25:6; 36:17.

[5] Because of this, a vineyard in the Word symbolizes a church that possesses truths from the Lord.

That wine symbolizes sacred truth can be seen also from its opposite meaning, in which it symbolizes truth falsified and profaned, as in the following places:

Harlotry, wine, and new wine have taken hold of the heart... Their wine is gone, they commit harlotry continually. (Hosea 4:11, 18)

Harlotry symbolizes the falsification of truth, and so, too, do the wine and new wine here.

...in the hand of Jehovah a cup, and He mixed it with wine; He filled it with the mixture and poured it out, and its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth, sucking, drink. (Psalms 75:8)

Babylon was a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they are deranged. (Jeremiah 51:7)

Babylon has fallen..., because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication... If anyone worships the beast..., he shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed with undiluted wine in the cup of the wrath (of God). (Revelation 14:8-10)

(Babylon has made) all the nations (drink) of the wine... of her fornication. (Revelation 18:3)

...great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. (Revelation 16:19)

...the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. (Revelation 17:1-2)

[6] The wine that Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, and his lords and wives and concubines drank from the vessels of the Temple in Jerusalem, while they praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone (Daniel 5:2-4) - that wine symbolized nothing else but the sacred truth of the Word and church profaned, which is why the writing then appeared on the wall, and the king that very night was slain (Daniel 5:25, 30)

Wine symbolizes truth falsified also in Isaiah 5:11-12, 21-22; 28:1, 3, 7; 29:9; 56:11-12.

The drink offering that they poured out as an offering to idols has the same symbolic meaning in Isaiah 65:11; 57:6; Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19; Ezekiel 20:28; Deuteronomy 32:38.

It is owing to its correspondence that wine symbolizes sacred truth, and in an opposite sense, truth profaned. For when a person reads "wine" in the Word, angels - who apprehend everything spiritually - have just this interpretation of it. Such is the correspondence between the natural thoughts of people and the spiritual thoughts of angels. The case is the same with the wine in the Holy Supper. That is why the Holy Supper occasions an introduction into heaven (no. 224 at the end).

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

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True Christianity # 367

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367. (d) If we separate the Lord, goodwill, and faith, however, instead of being a form that accepts these qualities we are a form that destroys them. If we separate the Lord from goodwill and faith, we separate the life from goodwill and faith. Then goodwill and faith either cease to exist or become deformed. (See above, 358, on the point that the Lord is life itself.) If we acknowledge the Lord but we leave out goodwill, we acknowledge the Lord only with our lips. Our acknowledgment and confession of him is something frozen that has no faith, because the spiritual essence of faith is lacking. Goodwill is the essence of faith. If we practice goodwill but do not acknowledge that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth and is one with the Father, as he himself teaches, then our practice of goodwill is only earthly and has no eternal life within it.

People in the church know that every good thing that is truly good is from God, and therefore from the Lord who is "the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20). The same is true of goodwill, because goodness and goodwill are one.

[2] Faith separated from goodwill is not faith, because faith is the light of human life and goodwill is its heat. Therefore if goodwill is separated from faith, the situation is the same as when heat is separated from light. Our state in that case is like the state of the world in winter when everything on earth dies away. For goodwill to be goodwill and faith to be faith, they cannot be separated any more than will and intellect can be separated. If will and intellect are separated, the intellect becomes nothing, and the will soon follows. The same is the case for goodwill and faith because goodwill dwells in the will and faith in the intellect.

[3] Separating goodwill and faith is like separating essence and form. The learned world knows that an essence without a form and a form without an essence are nothing. An essence has no quality without its form, and a form has no underlying reality without its essence. Therefore nothing can be attributed to either of them if they are separated from each other. Goodwill is the essence of faith and faith is the form of goodwill, just as goodness is the essence of truth and truth is the form of goodness, as I said just above.

[4] These two things, goodness and truth, are in each and every thing that really exists. Goodwill relates to goodness and faith relates to truth. Therefore goodwill and faith can be illustrated by comparisons with many things in the human body and many things on earth.

A comparison with the respiration of the lungs and the systolic motion of the heart provides a perfect parallel. Goodwill cannot be taken away from faith any more than the heart can be taken away from the lungs. If the heartbeat stops, the lungs immediately stop breathing. On the other hand, if the lungs stop breathing, all sensation shuts down, all movement of muscles is lost, and soon the heart stops and the whole life comes to an end. This comparison provides a perfect parallel because the heart corresponds to the will and also to goodwill, while the breathing of the lungs corresponds to the intellect and also to faith, in that goodwill dwells in the will and faith dwells in the intellect, as I have said before. In the Word, "heart" and "spirit" have exactly these meanings.

[5] Separating goodwill and faith is also perfectly parallel to separating blood and flesh. When blood is separated from flesh it is gore at first and later becomes pus. Flesh that has been separated from blood progressively rots and breeds little worms. In the spiritual meaning, "blood" means truth that is related to wisdom and faith, and "flesh" means goodness that is related to love and goodwill. This meaning of "blood" was demonstrated in Revelation Unveiled 379; this meaning of "flesh" was demonstrated in Revelation Unveiled 832.

[6] For both goodwill and faith to be anything, they cannot be separated any more than we can separate food and water or bread and wine. If we consume food or bread without water or wine, all they do is bloat our stomach. In the form of undigested lumps, they ruin our stomach and become like rotten, foul-smelling muck inside it. If we consume water or wine without food or bread, they too bloat our stomach and swell our blood-vessels and internal passages, which become so bereft of nutrition that they emaciate the body even to the point of death. This comparison as well is a perfect parallel, since in the spiritual meaning "food" and "bread" mean goodness that relates to love and goodwill, and "water" and "wine" mean truth that relates to wisdom and faith (see Revelation Unveiled 50, 316, 778, 932).

[7] Goodwill that is connected to faith and faith that is reciprocally connected to goodwill could be likened to a lovely young woman whose facial color is beautiful because redness and whiteness are integrated in it. This simile is also a perfect parallel because love, and therefore goodwill, glows red in the spiritual world due to the fire of the sun there, while truth, and therefore faith, shines white because of the light of that sun. Therefore goodwill that is separate from faith can be likened to a face that is blazing red with pimples, and faith that is separate from goodwill can be likened to the pale white face of a corpse.

Faith that is separate from goodwill can also be likened to the paralysis of one side of the body, or hemiplegia. As it progresses, people die from it. It can also be likened to Saint Vitus's or Saint Guy's dance, which befalls people who have been bitten by a tarantula. These victims have a rationality comparable to that of people who have faith without goodwill. In both cases they dance with a fury and think of themselves as being alive, but in fact they have no more ability to focus their reasoning and think about spiritual truths than someone lying in bed being crushed by a suffocating nightmare.

This provides adequate support for two of the topics in this chapter - the earlier one that faith without goodwill is not faith; goodwill without faith is not goodwill; and that neither of them is living unless it comes from the Lord [355-361]; and the current one, that the Lord, goodwill, and faith form a unity in the same way our life, our will, and our intellect form a unity; if we separate them, each one crumbles like a pearl that is crushed to powder [362-367].

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.