8495. A Sabbath holy to Jehovah is the morrow. That this signifies the conjunction of good and truth to eternity, is evident from the signification of “the Sabbath,” as being the conjunction of good and truth (of which below); and from the signification of “the morrow,” as being to eternity (see n. 3998). He who does not know what the Sabbath represented, and thus what it signified, cannot know why it was accounted the most holy of all things. But the reason why it was accounted most holy was that in the supreme sense it represented the union of the Divine and the Divine Human in the Lord; and in the relative sense the conjunction of the Divine Human of the Lord with the human race. Consequently the Sabbath was most holy. And because it represented these things, it also represented heaven in respect to the conjunction of good and truth, which conjunction is called “the heavenly marriage.” And as the conjunction of good and truth is effected by the Lord alone, and nothing of it by man, and as it is effected in a state of peace, therefore it was most severely forbidden that man should then do any work, insomuch that the soul which did this was to be cut off, as we read in Moses:

Ye shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy to you; he that profaneth it, dying shall die; for whosoever doeth work therein, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of his people (Exodus 31:14).

Therefore one was stoned who merely picked up sticks on that day (Numbers 15:32-36). Therefore also the commandment concerning the Sabbath is the third commandment in the Decalogue, immediately following the two concerning the holy worship of Jehovah (Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:12). And therefore the Sabbath is called “an eternal covenant” (Exodus 31:16), for by “covenant” is signified conjunction (n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804).

[2] From all this it can now be seen what is meant in the internal sense by the things said in the following passages about the Sabbath; as in Isaiah:

Blessed is the man who keepeth the Sabbath, that he profane it not; thus said Jehovah to the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose that in which I delight, and take hold of My covenant, I will give them in My house and within My walls a place and a name, better than sons and daughters; I will give them an eternal name, that shall not be cut off; whosoever keepeth the Sabbath that he profane it not, and whoso taketh hold of My covenant, them will I bring in upon the mountain of My holiness, and I will cheer them in My house of prayer (56:2-7);

from all this it is evident that by “those who keep the Sabbath holy” are meant those who are in conjunction with the Lord. That they shall be in heaven is signified by “a place and a name better than sons and daughters being given them in the house of Jehovah, an eternal name that shall not be cut off,” and by their being “brought in upon the mountain of holiness.”

[3] In the same:

If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, not doing thy wills on the day of My holiness, but shalt call the Sabbath delights, holy to Jehovah, honorable; and shalt honor it, so that thou do not then thy ways, nor find thy desire, or speak a word, then shalt thou be delighted upon Jehovah, and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob (58:13-14);

here it is very plain what was represented by “not doing any work on the Sabbath day,” namely, that they should not do anything from their own, but from the Lord; for the angelic state in heaven is that they will and do nothing from themselves, or from their own, and do not even think and speak therefrom: their conjunction with the Lord consists in this. Their own from which they are not to act, is signified by their “not doing their own wills, nor doing their own ways, nor finding their own desire, nor speaking a word.” This state with the angels is the heavenly state itself; and when they are in it, they have peace and rest, and the Lord also has rest; for when they have been conjoined with Him, they labor no more, because they are then in the Lord. These things are signified by the words, thus shalt thou call the Sabbath the holy delights of Jehovah, and they shall be delighted upon Jehovah.” The Lord’s rest is signified by His resting on the seventh day after the six days’ creation (Genesis 2:2).

[4] Like things are understood by these words in Jeremiah:

If hearing ye shall hear Me, that ye bring not in a burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and that ye hallow the Sabbath day, so that ye do not any work therein, then shall there enter through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariot and on horses, they and their princes, the man of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited to eternity (17:24-25);

by “work on the Sabbath” is signified everything that is from our own; the state of those who are not led by their own, but by the Lord, is described by there “entering through the gates of the city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariot and on horses;” by “kings” are signified the truths of faith; by “princes,” the primary things thereof; by “sitting upon the throne of David,” that these are from the Lord; by “the chariot and horses,” the doctrinal and intellectual things of faith. Be it known that all things which come from the man’s own are evil, and that all things which come from the Lord are good. (That with those who are led by the Lord all things flow in, down to the least thing of life both of intellect and of will, thus down to each and all things of faith and of charity, see what has been abundantly shown from experience, n. 2886-2888, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7147, 7270)

[5] That the Sabbath was representative of the conjunction of the Lord with the human race, is evident in Ezekiel:

I gave them My Sabbaths that they might be for a sign between Me and them, to acknowledge that I Jehovah do sanctify them (20:12; also Exodus 31:13).

Therefore also it was forbidden to kindle a fire on the Sabbath day (Exodus 35:3), because by “fire” was signified everything that is of life; and by “kindling a fire,” that which is of life from man’s own. From all that has been said it is plain that the Lord is “the Lord of the Sabbath,” according to His words in Matthew 12:1-8; and it may be seen why many cures were performed by the Lord on the Sabbath days (Matthew 12:10-13; Mark 3:1-8; Luke 6:6-11; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 5:9-18; 7:22-23; 9:14, 16); for the diseases of which they were healed by the Lord involved spiritual diseases, which are from evil (see n. 7337, 8364).

6804. And God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. That this signifies by reason of conjunction with the church through the Lord’s Divine Human, is evident from the signification of “covenant,” as being conjunction (of which in what follows); and from the representation of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with whom a covenant was made, as being the Lord’s Divine Human. (That Abraham represents the Lord as to the Divine Itself, Isaac as to the Divine rational, and Jacob as to the Divine natural, see n. 1893, 2011, 2066, 2072, 2083, 2630, 3194, 3210, 3245, 3251, 3305, 3439, 3576, 3599, 3704, 4180, 4286, 4538, 4570, 4615, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6425.) That where mention is made of “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” in the Word, in the spiritual sense these men are not meant, can be seen from the fact that names never penetrate into heaven, but only what is signified by those who are named, thus the things themselves, their quality and their states, which are of the church and of the Lord’s kingdom, and which are of the Lord Himself.

[2] And moreover the angels in heaven never determine their thoughts to the individual persons, for this would be to limit the thoughts, and to withdraw them from the universal perception of the things, from which is angelic speech. Hence what the angels speak in heaven is unutterable to man, and far above his thought, which is not extended to universals, but confined to particulars. When therefore we read this:

Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 8:11).

The angels perceive the Lord’s presence and the appropriation of the truth and good which proceed from His Divine Human. Also when we read that

Lazarus was taken up into Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:22).

The angels perceive that he was taken up into heaven where the Lord is present. Hence also it can be seen that by the “covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” in the internal sense is meant conjunction through the Lord’s Divine Human.

[3] That the Divine Human is a “covenant,” that is, conjunction itself, can be seen from many passages in the Word, as in Isaiah:

I will give Thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations (Isaiah 42:6).

I gave Thee for a covenant of the people, to restore the land, to divide the wasted heritages (Isaiah 49:8).

Incline your ear, and come unto Me; hear and your soul shall live; so will I make a covenant of eternity with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold I have given Him for a witness to the peoples, a prince and a lawgiver to the nations (Isaiah 55:3-4).

The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple; and the Angel of the covenant whom ye desire, behold He cometh (Malachi 3:1).

He hath put for Me a covenant of eternity, to be disposed for all and to be kept (2 Samuel 23:5).

[4] In these passages the Lord is plainly treated of, and the conjunction of the human race with the Divine Itself of the Lord through His Divine Human. It is known in the church that the Lord as to the Divine Human is the Mediator, and that no one can come to the Divine Itself, which is in the Lord and is called the Father, except through the Son, that is, through the Divine Human. Thus the Lord as to the Divine Human is the conjunction. Who can comprehend the Divine Itself by any thought? And if he cannot comprehend it in thought, who can be conjoined with it in love? But everyone can comprehend the Divine Human in thought, and be conjoined with it in love.

[5] That a “covenant” denotes conjunction can be seen from the covenants made between kingdoms, and that by these they are joined together; and that there are stipulations on each side, which are to be kept, in order that the conjunction may be inviolate. These stipulations or compacts are also called a “covenant.” The stipulations or compacts which in the Word are called a “covenant” are on the part of man, in a close sense, the ten commandments, or Decalogue; in a wider sense they are all the statutes, commandments, laws, testimonies, precepts, which the Lord enjoined from Mount Sinai through Moses; and in a sense still more wide they are the books of Moses, the contents of which were to be observed on the part of the sons of Israel. On the part of the Lord the “covenant” is mercy and election.

[6] That the ten commandments or Decalogue are a “covenant” is evident from Moses:

Jehovah hath told you His covenant, which He commanded you to do, the ten words which He wrote on two tables of stone (Deuteronomy 4:13, 23).

And because the two tables of stone, on which the ten commandments were written, were stored up in the ark (Exodus 25:16, 21-22; 31:18; 32:15-16, 19; 40:20), therefore the ark was called the “ark of the covenant” (Deuteronomy 31:9, 24-26; Josh. 3:3, 6, 14; 4:7; Judg. 20:27; 2 Samuel 15:24; 1 Kings 8:21). In the last passage cited, Solomon thus speaks:

There I have set a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah which He made with our fathers (1 Kings 8:21).

And in John:

The temple of God was opened in heaven; and there was seen in His temple the ark of His covenant (Revelation 11:19).

[7] That all the judgments and statutes which the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel, were called the “covenant,” as were also the books of Moses themselves, is evident from Moses:

After the mouth of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel (Exodus 34:27).

The things which are here called a “covenant” were the many in regard to sacrifices, feasts, and unleavened bread.

Moses took the book of the covenant, and read in the ears of the people, who said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do and hear (Exodus 24:7-8.

Josiah, king of Judah, in the house of Jehovah in the presence of them all read the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of Jehovah. And he made a covenant before Jehovah, to establish the words of the covenant written in that book; and all the people stood to the covenant. The king commanded all the people that they should perform the passover to Jehovah God, as it is written in this book of the covenant (2 Kings 23:2-3, 21).

If thy sons will keep My covenant and My testimony that I have taught them, their sons also shall sit on thy throne forevermore (Psalms 132:12).

[8] That a “covenant” denotes conjunction through love and faith is evident from Moses:

Behold the days come, said Jehovah, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, because they rendered My covenant vain; but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put My law in the midst of them, and I will write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Jeremiah 31:31-33);

“to put a law in the midst of them, and to write it on their heart” is to endow with faith and charity; through faith and charity the conjunction is made which is described by the words, “I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will no more turn away from them; and I will do well to them; and I will put My fear in their heart, that they shall not depart from Me (Jeremiah 32:40).

Conjunction through love, which is the “covenant,” is signified by, “I will put My fear in their heart, that they shall not depart from Me.”

[9] In Ezekiel:

I will make a covenant of peace with them, a covenant of eternity it shall be with them; and I will give them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them; and My habitation shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Ezekiel 37:26-27);

here conjunction through love and faith, which are a “covenant,” is described by “a sanctuary in the midst of them,” and by “a habitation with them,” and by the words, “I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

When I passed by thee, and saw thee, that behold it was thy time, the time of loves, and I entered into a covenant with thee, that thou shouldest be Mine (Ezekiel 16:8);

speaking of Jerusalem, whereby is signified the Ancient Church; that “to enter into a covenant that thou shouldest be Mine” is marriage, or spiritual conjunction, is plain. As a “covenant” signifies conjunction, a wife is also called “a wife of the covenant” (Malachi 2:14); and conjunction among brethren is called “the covenant of brethren” (Amos 1:9).

By “covenant” is also signified conjunction in David:

I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to David My servant (Psalms 89:3).

[10] That the compact of a covenant on the part of the Lord is mercy and election, is evident in David:

All the ways of Jehovah are mercy and truth to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies (Psalms 25:10).

The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My mercy shall not depart, and the covenant of My peace shall not be removed, saith thy compassionate One, Jehovah (Isaiah 54:10).

Jehovah thy God, He is God, the faithful God, keeping covenant and mercy with them that love Him, and that keep His commandments, to the thousandth generation (Deuteronomy 7:9, 12).

If ye will keep My covenant, ye shall be unto Me for a peculiar treasure from all peoples (Exodus 19:5),

I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and will establish My covenant with you (Leviticus 26:9);

“to have respect unto them” is of mercy; “to make them fruitful and multiply them” is to endow them with charity and faith; they who are endowed with these gifts are called the “elect;” so that these are words of election; and also the words “they shall be for a peculiar treasure.”

[11] Signs of a covenant existed also in the representative church, and were such as reminded of conjunction. Circumcision was such a sign (Genesis 17:11); for “circumcision” signified purification from filthy loves, on the removal of which, heavenly love is instilled, through which is conjunction. The Sabbath is also called “an eternal covenant” (Exodus 31:16). It is said also that “the show-bread should be to the sons of Israel for an eternal covenant” (Leviticus 24:8) and especially the “blood”, as is evident from Moses:

Moses took the book of the covenant, and read in the ears of the people, who said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do and hear; then Moses took the blood of the peace sacrifice, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which Jehovah hath made with you over all these words (Exodus 24:7-8),

By the blood of Thy covenant I will send forth the bound out of the pit wherein is no water (Zech. 9:11

Blood was a covenant, or the token of a covenant, because it signified conjunction through spiritual love, that is, through charity toward the neighbor; therefore when the Lord instituted the Holy Supper, He called His blood the “blood of the new covenant” (Matthew 26:28). From all this it can now be seen what is meant by a “covenant” in the Word in the internal sense.