9517. 'The faces of the cherubs shall be towards the mercy-seat' means the interiors looking unceasingly towards good, thus towards the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'the mercy-seat' as the good of love, from which comes the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship, dealt with above in 9506, thus also as the Lord since all the good of love originates in the Lord and is the Lord Himself as He resides with angel and man; from the meaning of 'the faces' as the interiors, dealt with immediately above in 9516; and from the meaning of 'the cherubs' as watchfulness and providence, guarding against access to the Lord except through the good of love, dealt with in 9509.

[2] What happens is this: Heaven and the Church, or the angels of heaven and members of the Church, receive protection from the Lord by having their interiors raised towards Him; and when they are raised they are suffused with the good of love to Him and the good of love towards the neighbour. This is what being raised towards the Lord is; and in this way, as has been stated, angels in heaven and members of the Church receive protection. Those who are raised by the Lord turn their face constantly towards the Lord, because the Lord keeps them joined to Himself through the good of love, whereas those who are not raised turn their face away from the Lord. All this shows what is meant by the requirement that the faces of the cherubs should be 'towards the mercy-seat'. But regarding that turning of themselves towards the Lord something will in the Lord's Divine mercy be stated from experience elsewhere.