167. And all [the churches] shall know that I am he who searcheth the reins and hearts. That this signifies the acknowledgment, on the part of all those who belong to the church, that the Lord alone knows and explores the exteriors and interiors and the things pertaining to faith and love is evident from the signification of searching, when said of the Lord, as being that He alone knows and explores; and from the signification of the reins, as being the truths of faith, and their purification from falsities, concerning which we shall speak in what follows; and from the signification of hearts, as being the goods of love. The reason why the heart signifies the good of love is, that there are two things that reign in man, from which all the life of his body is derived - the heart and the lungs. And because all things in a man's body correspond to all the things in his mind, and there are also two things that reign there, the will and the understanding, therefore these two kingdoms of the mind correspond to the two kingdoms of the body - the will to the heart and its pulse, and the understanding to the lungs and their respiration; without this correspondence the body could not live, nor even a particle of it. Because the heart corresponds to the will, it also corresponds to the good of love; and as the lungs correspond to the understanding, they also correspond to the truths of faith. It is from this correspondence that the heart signifies love, and the soul (anima) signifies faith; hence the expression "from the heart and soul" is so often used in the Word, by which is meant from the love and faith. (This correspondence is much treated of in Arcana Coelestia, where the following particulars may be seen more fully explained, namely, that the heart in the Word signifies love, and because it signifies love, that it also signifies the will, n. 2930, 3313, 7542, 8910, 9050, 9113, 10336. That the heart corresponds to the things that pertain to man's love, and the lungs to the things that pertain to his faith, n. 3883-3896. That in heaven there is a pulse like that of the heart, and a respiration like that of the lungs, n. 3884, 3885, 3887. That the pulse of the heart there is according to the state of love, and the respiration of the lungs according to the state of faith, n. 3886-3889; that the influx of the heart into the lungs is circumstanced like the influx of good into truth, or of the will into the understanding and of love into faith, and that the communications and conjunctions are similar, n. 3884, 3887-3889, 9300, 9495. Concerning the influx of heaven into the heart and into the lungs, from experience, n. 3884. That from this correspondence in the Word, when it is said from the heart and from the soul, it signifies from the love and faith, n. 2930, 9050; that the conjunction of man's spirit with his body is by means of the respiration of the lungs and of the pulse of the heart, and that therefore when these cease, man's body dies, but his spirit lives, see the work, Heaven and Hell; and that when the pulse of the heart ceases, the spirit is separated, because the heart corresponds to love which is the vital heat, n.447, in that work. Many other things concerning that correspondence may be seen there, n. 95.) That the kidneys signify the truths of faith and the purification of them from falsities, is because the purification of the blood is performed in the kidneys; and by blood in the Word is signified truth, as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia. n. 4735, 9127. The same also is signified by the organ which purifies: also all purification from falsities is effected by means of truths.

It is therefore evident that by Jehovah, or the Lord, in the Word, searching the heart and reins is signified that He explores the goods of love and the truths of faith, and separates them from evils and falsities.

[2] This is signified by reins in the following places: in Jeremiah,

"Jehovah Zebaoth, judge of justice, proving the reins and the heart" (11:20).

Again:

"Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit; thou art near in their mouth and far from their reins. Jehovah, thou shalt see me, and shalt prove my heart" (12:2, 3).

By being near in the mouth, and far from the reins is meant truth only in the memory, and thence in some of his thoughts when a man speaks, but not in the will and thence in act. Truth in the will and thence in act is that which separates and dissipates falsities; truth in the will and thence in act is to will and do what a man knows and thinks to be truth; this truth is what is specifically meant by reins.

[3] Again in the same prophet:

"I Jehovah search the heart, and prove the reins, even to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works" (17:10).

To search the heart is to purify good by separating evil from it; to prove the reins, is to purify truth by separating falsity from it. It is therefore said, "To give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works"; ways denote the truths of faith, and the fruit of works denotes the goods of love. (That ways denote truths of faith, may be seen above, n. 97, and that the fruit of works denotes the goods of love, n. 98, 109, 116.)

[4] In the same:

"Jehovah Zebaoth, proving the just, seeing the reins and the heart" (20:12).

And in David:

"Establish the just for thou who triest the hearts and reins art a just God" (Psalms 7:9).

The just denote those who love to do what is good and true, whose truths and goods are purified by the Lord, which is signified by His seeing and trying the reins and the hearts.

In the same:

"Prove me, O Jehovah, and try me, explore my reins and my heart" (Psalms 26:2).

Because truths are separated from falsities and goods from evils by temptations, it is therefore said, try me. In the same:

"For my heart was embittered and I am pricked in my reins. But I am foolish, and I do not know" (Psalms 73:21, 22).

The infestation of good by evil and of truth by falsity, is described by these words.

In the same:

"Behold, thou desirest truth in the reins, and in the hidden part thou makest wisdom known to me" (Psalms 51:6).

Here reins are expressed by another word in the original tongue, which involves the separation both of falsities from truths and of evils from goods. It is therefore evident that the reins signify purification and separation.

[5] In the same:

"I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel; nightly, also, do my reins chastise me" (Psalms 16:7).

Nights signify the state of man when falsities rise up; the combat in such cases of truths with them is signified by "my reins chastise me." In the same:

"Even the darkness doth not make darkness before thee, but the night is light as the day; as the darkness so is the light; for thou possessest my reins, my bone was not hid from thee when I was made in secret" (Psalms 139:12, 13, 15).

Falsities are signified by darkness and truths by light; to possess the reins, is to know the falsities and truths pertaining to man; hence it is said, "my bone was not hid from thee when I was made in secret," which signifies that no falsity that was made could be bid. (That darkness denotes falsities and light truths may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 126-140 and that bone signifies truth in the ultimate of order, and, in the opposite sense, falsity, in Arcana Coelestia 3812, 5560, 5565, 6592, 8005.)

[6] Because the reins signified truths purified from falsities, therefore in the sacrifices the fats and reins were alone offered up, as may be seen in Exodus 29:13; Leviticus 3:4, 10, 15; 4:9; and other places.

The reason why the fats and reins alone were offered upon the altar was, because the fats signified the goods of love, and the reins the truths of faith. (That fats or fatnesses signify the goods of love, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 353, 5943, 6409, 10033. That the reins signify the truths of faith examining, purifying, and rejecting from themselves falsities is from correspondence; for all parts of the body, even the most minute, have a correspondence, as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, where it is shown, under its proper article, that "there is a correspondence of all things of heaven with all things of man," n. 87-102; and concerning the kidneys, n.96, 97.) Unless it be known that there is such a correspondence, who could know why it is so often stated of Jehovah, or the Lord, in the Word, that He searches and tries the reins and the heart? (Concerning the correspondence of the kidneys, the ureters, and vesicles, see Arcana Coelestia 5380-5386.) The reason why to search the reins and the heart also signifies to explore the exteriors and interiors of man is, that truth is without, and good is within; and spiritual good, which in its essence is truth, and which is specifically signified by the reins, is exterior good: but celestial good, which is specifically signified by the heart, is interior good. (This is more evident from what is said and shown concerning, the spiritual kingdom and the celestial kingdom in the work, Heaven and Hell 20-26.)

4005. 'And he removed on that day the variegated and spotted he-goats' means that the truths of good that were interspersed among and mingled with the evils and falsities belonging to the good meant by 'Laban' were singled out. This is clear from the meaning of 'removing' as singling out; from the meaning of 'he-goats' as the truths of good, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'variegated' as those which were interspersed among and mingled with evils, also dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'spotted' as those which were interspersed among and mingled with falsities, dealt with above. 'He-goats' are mentioned here and then 'she-goats' after them because 'he-goats' means the truths of good and 'she-goats' the goods of truth. For the nature of the difference between the two, see above in 3995.

[2] In the Word a careful distinction is made between the males and the females, as is evident from the sacrifices and the burnt offerings in which it was explicitly laid down whether a male lamb was to be offered or a ewe-lamb, a she-goat or a he-goat, a sheep or a ram, and so on. From these it becomes clear that one thing was meant by a male, another by a female. In general a male means truth and a female good. Here therefore 'he-goats' is used to mean the truths of good, and 'she-goats', mentioned immediately after, to mean the forms of good which are coupled with those truths. And this difference between males and females also explains why it is said that he removed the variegated he-goats but not, as in the reference to the she-goats, the speckled ones; for 'variegated' means truth interspersed among and mingled with evils, whereas 'speckled' means good interspersed among and mingled with them, dealt with above in 3993. Truth mingled with evils belongs specifically to the understanding, but good mingled with evils specifically to the will. This is how the two differ from each other. And they come from the good meant by 'Laban', as is evident from the fact that the he-goats and the she-goats were taken from Laban's flock. For 'a flock' in the Word means good and truth, or what amounts to the same, those in whom good and truth are present, and so those who belong to the Lord's Church.

[3] This arcanum is unable to be explained any further because it cannot become clear except to a mind that has been taught about truths and goods, and at the same time has been enlightened. Indeed one has to know what the truths of good are and what the kinds of good originating in these are, as well as the fact that from the one kind of good represented here by Laban so many varying forms of it can be singled out. Nor do people who are unaware of these matters know that each kind of good includes countless forms of it, so many indeed that these can hardly be arranged into general divisions by even the most knowledgeable mind. For there are forms of good which are acquired by means of truths, truths which are born from those forms of good, and forms of good acquired in turn by means of these truths. There are truths born from forms of good, which also exist in a connected series. Then there are forms of good mingled with evils, and truths with falsities, dealt with above in 3993, the minglings and mutual modifications of which are so varying and manifold that they exceed many millions. These are also made various by all the states of life through which people pass, and these states of life in general by the time of life which those people have reached, in particular by whatever affections reign in them. From all this one can comprehend to some extent that so many varying things were able to be singled out from 'Laban' good, some of which were joined to the truths meant by the sons of Jacob, and some left behind from which others were derived. But as has been stated, these matters are of such a nature that they cannot be understood unless the mind has been taught about goods and truths and has at the same time been enlightened.