923. And he offered burnt-offerings on the altar. That this signifies all worship therefrom, is evident from what has been already said. Burnt-offerings were the principal things of the worship of the representative church, and so thereafter were sacrifices, concerning which, of the Lord’s Divine mercy hereafter. That “burnt-offerings” taken in the complex signify representative worship, is evident also in the Prophets, as in David:

Jehovah will send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; He will remember all thy offerings, and accept as fat thy burnt-offering (Psalms 20:2-3).

In Isaiah:

Whoso keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, them will I bring in to My holy mountain; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar (Isaiah 56:6-7),

where “burnt-offerings and sacrifices” denote all worship; “burnt-offerings” worship from love, “sacrifices” worship from the derivative faith. As is usual in the Prophets,” internal things are here described by external.

246. That the “beast and the wild animal of the field” signify affections, is evident from what was previously said concerning them n. 45, 46), to which it is permitted to add the following passage from David:

Thou, O God, dost send the rain of Thy kindnesses; Thou confirmest Thy laboring inheritance; Thy wild animal shall dwell therein (Psalms 68:9-10),

where also “wild animal” denotes the affection of good, because it is said that it shall “dwell in the inheritance of God.” The reason why here, and also in chapter 2, the “beast and the wild animal of the field” are mentioned, while in chapter 1, the “beast and the wild animal of the earth” are named, is that the present passage treats of the church or regenerated man, whereas the first chapter related to what was as yet not a church, or to man about to become regenerate; for the word “field” is applied to the church, or to the regenerate.