8301. 'Who is like You among the gods, O Jehovah' means that every truth of good emanates from the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'gods' as truths, dealt with in 4402, 7268, 7873, at this point truths springing from good since comparison with Jehovah is made when it says, Who is like You among the gods, O Jehovah? 'Jehovah' in the Word means the Lord, see 1343, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5041, 5663, 6280, 6281, 6303, 6905, 6945, 6956; but at this point 'Jehovah' is used to mean the Divine Human because the theme of the song is the salvation of those belonging to the spiritual Church, accomplished through the Lord's Coming into the world, and by means of His Divine Human while He was in it, see 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834, 6372, 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091(end), 7828, 7932, 8018, 8054. The reason why the words used mean that every truth of good emanates from the Lord's Divine Human is that truths can emanate from anyone at all, but the truths of good can do so only from the Lord, consequently from those who are governed by good received from the Lord. Truths divorced from good are also contemplated and declared by those who possess faith that is mere persuasion and still lead a life of evil, as well as by many others within the Church. But those truths are not the truths of good, and so they do not emanate from the Lord but from such people themselves.

[2] The fact that truths springing from good emanate from the Lord may be recognized from the consideration that the Lord is Good itself because He is Love itself. Truth emanates from that Love just as light does from the flames of the sun. This truth is also like the light in springtime and summer, which holds warmth within itself and causes all things on the planet to come alive so to speak. But truth that does not flow from good is like the light in wintertime when all things on the planet die off. The reason why 'gods' are the truths of good is that 'gods' is used in the good sense to mean angels, who are called 'gods' because they are substances or forms receiving truth that has good from the Lord within it.

[3] Angels, and therefore the truths of good which emanate from the Lord, are also meant by 'gods' in the following places:

In David,

God places himself in the assembly of God in the midst of the gods will He judge. I said, You are gods and sons of the Most High, all of you. Psalms 82:1, 6.

Truths emanating from the Lord are what 'gods' is used to mean here. This is clear from the fact that the singular, 'in the assembly of God', is used first, and 'in the midst of the gods' afterwards. For 'God' is used in the Word where truth is referred to, see 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921, 4287, 4402, 7010; and in the highest sense 'God' is the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 7268.

In the same author,

I will confess You with my whole heart; before the gods I will make melody to You. Psalms 138:1.

In the same author,

There is none like You among the gods O Lord. Psalms 86:8.

In the same author,

A great God is Jehovah, and a great King above all gods. Psalms 95:3.

In the same author,

You, O Jehovah, are [high] above all the earth; You are exceedingly exalted above all gods. Psalms 97:9.

In the same author,

I know that Jehovah is great, and our Lord is above all gods. Psalms 135:5.

So it is too that Jehovah is called Lord of lords and God of gods in Deuteronomy 10:17; Joshua 22:22; Psalms 136:2.

[4] The reason why it is said so many times that Jehovah is above all gods and is God of gods is that at that time a large number of gods were worshipped. Nations were distinguished from one another according to the gods they worshipped, each nation believing that its god was the highest of all. As a result of this the idea of a large number of gods was rooted in everyone's mind, though there was disagreement over which one of them was the greatest, as becomes quite clear from many places in the historical narratives of the Word. That idea was rooted in the minds of the Jews more than others, and this explains why it says so many times in the Word that Jehovah was greater than all gods and that He was King and God of gods. The fact that this idea of a large number of gods was rooted in the minds of the Jews more than other nations becomes quite clear from their frequent apostasy, when they turned to the worship of other gods, many instances of which are recorded in the historical books of the Word, such as Judges 2:10, 13, 17, 19; 3:5-7; 8:27, 33; 10:6, 10, 13; 18:14, 17-18, 20, 24, 31; I Sam. 7:3-4; 8:8; 1 Kings 14:23-24; 16:31-33; 18:20ff; 21:26; 22:53; 2 Kings 16:1, 10ff; 17:7, 15-17; 21:3-7, 21; 23:4-5, 7-8, 10-13; and elsewhere.

[5] The mind of that nation was so unsound that with their lips they declared belief in Jehovah alone, yet in their heart acknowledged other gods. This becomes perfectly clear from the consideration that they saw so many miracles in Egypt, and in addition so many after that - the division of the sea before them and the drowning of Pharaoh's army, the pillar of cloud and fire constantly appearing, the manna raining down from heaven every day, and the actual presence of Jehovah with such great majesty and awe on Mount Sinai. And having seen such miracles they declared openly that Jehovah alone was God. Yet only weeks later, merely because Moses delayed [coming down from the mountain], they asked for molded gods which they could adore. And also after Aaron had made them those people attended them with divine worship through a feast, burnt offerings and sacrifices, and dancing. From this it becomes clear that the worship of many gods remained fixed in their hearts. The fact that this nation was like this, more than any other nation on the entire earth, is also clear in Jeremiah,

Has a nation changed its gods, and My people changed their glory for what does not profit? Be astonished, O heavens, over this, and shudder, be in great trepidation. According to the number of your cities have your gods been, O Judah. Jeremiah 2:11-12, 28.

[6] The character of that nation is also such that they adore external things, and so idols, more than all other nations do; they have no desire whatever to know about internal things. For they are the most avaricious of all nations; and avarice, which with them is such that gold or silver is loved for its own sake and not for the sake of any useful purpose, is an extremely earthly desire. It drags the mind down completely to a physical level and submerges it in it; and it closes interior levels to such an extent that no faith or love whatever from heaven can enter them. This shows how greatly mistaken those people are who believe that that nation will be chosen again, or that the Lord's Church will pass to them again after all others have been cast aside, when in fact you will convert stones to faith in the Lord before you convert them. This belief that the Church will pass to them is again due to many places in the prophetical parts of the Word which speak of their future return. But such people do not know that in those places Judah, Jacob, or Israel is not used to mean that nation, but those among whom the Church resides.

2906. 'The years of the life of Sarah' means when any Divine truth still existed on earth. This is clear from the meaning of 'a year' as a whole period of the Church from start to finish, and so of 'years' as periods, dealt with immediately above in 2905; and from the meaning of 'the life of Sarah' as states as regards Divine truth, also dealt with just above, in 2904. Thus here the end when no Divine truth at all existed any longer is meant, as also follows from the words that occur immediately before these.

[2] That 'a year' means the whole length of time a state of the Church lasts, from start to finish, or what amounts to the same, a whole period, and that consequently 'years' means the periods of time within the general whole, becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

Jehovah has anointed Me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to captives, and opening of every kind to those that are bound, to proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure, and the day of vengeance for our God. Isaiah 61:1-2.

This refers to the Coming of the Lord. 'The year of Jehovah's good pleasure' stands for the time of the new Church. In the same prophet,

The day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. Isaiah 63:4.

This similarly refers to the Coming of the Lord. 'The year of the redeemed' stands for the time of the new Church. In the same prophet,

The day of Jehovah's vengeance, the year of retributions on account of the controversy of Zion. Isaiah 34:8.

Here the meaning is similar.

[3] That same period is also called 'the year of visitation': in Jeremiah,

I will bring evil to the men of Anathoth in the year of their visitation. Jeremiah 11:23.

In the same prophet,

I will bring upon Moab the year of their visitation. Jeremiah 48:44.

And plainer still in Ezekiel,

After many days you will be visited; in the latter years you will come upon the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel, which will be a waste continually. Ezekiel 38:8.

'The latter years' stands for the final period of the Church when it becomes that which is not the Church, those who previously belonged to the Church having been rejected and others having been accepted from other places. In Isaiah,

Thus said the Lord to me, Within yet a year, according to the years of a hireling, and all the glory of Kedar will be brought to an end. Isaiah 21:16.

This too stands for the final period.

[4] In Ezekiel,

You have become guilty by your blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made, and you have brought your days near, and you have come even to your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands. Ezekiel 22:4.

'Coming even to their years' stands for coming to the end when the Lord departs from the Church. In Isaiah,

Jehovah has now spoken, saying, In three years, as with the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab will grow worthless, with all its great multitude; and the residue will be tiny and of no account. Isaiah 16:14.

'In three years' also stands for the end of the previous Church - 'three' meaning that which has been completed and that which is a beginning, see 1825, 2788.

[5] Seven, and also seventy, have the same meaning, see 720, 728, 901. Consequently it is said in Isaiah,

And it will be on that day, that Tyre will pass into oblivion for seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre according to the song of the harlot. And it will be at the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she will return to hiring herself out as a harlot. Isaiah 23:15, 17.

'Seventy years' stands for a whole period, from the time a Church comes into being until the time it breathes its last, which is also 'the days of one king', for 'a king' means a Church's truth, see 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069. The captivity which the Jews were sent into lasting seventy years entails something similar. That captivity is also spoken of in Jeremiah as follows,

These nations will serve the king of Babel seventy years, and it will be, when the seventy years are fulfilled, that I will visit the king of Babel and this nation for their iniquity, said Jehovah. Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10.

[6] That 'a year', and also 'years', is a whole period of the Church, or the time it lasts, becomes clearer still in Malachi,

Behold, I am sending My angel, and he will prepare the way before Me; and suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, said Jehovah Zebaoth. And who can endure the day of His coming? Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Jehovah, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. Malachi 3:1-2, 4.

This refers to the Coming of the Lord. 'The days of old' stands for the Most Ancient Church, 'ancient years' for the Ancient Church, 'the offering of Judah' for worship springing from celestial love, and 'the offering of Jerusalem' for worship springing from spiritual love. Here it is quite evident that neither Judah nor Jerusalem was meant. In David,

I have considered the days of old, and the years of long ago. Psalms 77:5.

Here 'the days of old' and 'the years of long ago' stand for the same two Churches, as is plainer still in Moses,

Recollect the days of old, understand the years of generation after generation; ask your father and he will show you, your elders and they will tell you, When the Most High gave to the nations an inheritance, and Himself separated the sons of man. Deuteronomy 32:7-8.

[7] That 'a year' or 'years' is a complete period of the Church is also evident in Habakkuk,

O Jehovah, I have heard Your fame; I was afraid. O Jehovah, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath You will remember mercy. God will come out of Teman, and the Holy One out of Mount Paran. Habakkuk 3:2-3.

This refers to the Coming of the Lord. 'In the midst of the years' stands for in the fullness of time. For what the fullness of time is, see just above in 2905.

[8] As 'a year' and 'years', when used in reference to the Lord's kingdom on earth, which is the Church, mean a complete period from start to finish, so when used in reference to the Lord's kingdom in heaven do they mean that which is eternal; as in David,

O God, Your years are from generation to generation. You are He, and Your years will have no end. The sons of Your servants will continue, and their seed will be established before You. Psalms 102:24, 27-28.

In the same author,

You will add days to the king's days; His years as generation after generation! And He will dwell for ever before God. Psalms 61:6-7.

Here 'years' stands for that which is eternal since these words refer to the Lord and His kingdom.

[9] The lambs offered in burnt offerings and sacrifices, which were to be in their first year, Leviticus 12:6; 14:10; Numbers 6:12; 7:15, 21, 33, 39, 45, 51, 57, 63, 69, 75, 81; and elsewhere, meant the celestial things of innocence in the Lord's kingdom, which are eternal. Hence burnt offerings of calves in their first year are referred to in Micah 6:6 as being most acceptable.

[10] That 'a year' in the internal sense does not mean a year is made additionally clear from the consideration that angels, who possess the internal sense of the Word, are not able to possess the idea of any year. But because a year is a complete period of time within the natural world, they have instead of the idea of a year the idea of that which is completed in relation to states of the Church, and of that which is eternal in relation to states in heaven. To them periods of time are states, 1274, 1382, 2625, 2788, 2837.