10256. “香菖蒲” 表对内层真理的感知和情感. 这从 “香菖蒲” 的含义清楚可知, “香菖蒲” 是指对内层真理的感知和情感, 因为 “菖蒲” 表示这真理, 而 “香 (味)” 表示对真理的感知和情感. “菖蒲” 表示真理, 这一点可见于下文; “香 (味)” 表示对它的一种感知和情感 (参看10254节).

此处的内层真理是指存在于内在人中的真理, 这真理在那里是外层. 这与前面所说的 (10254节) 是一致的, 即: 外在人里面有一个内层和一个外层, 内在人里面同样有一个内层和一个外层. 正因如此, 制备膏油要用到四种芳香物质或香料, 就是品质最高的没药, 香肉桂, 香菖蒲和桂皮. “品质最高的没药” 表示对外在人里面的外层真理, 就是感官真理的感知; “香肉桂” 表示那里的内层真理, 就是属世真理; “香菖蒲” 表示内在人里面的外层真理; “桂皮” 表示那里的内层真理. “橄榄油” 表示构成对这些真理的情感和感知的良善本身.

“菖蒲” 表示内层真理, 这一点从圣言中提到它的地方清楚看出来. 然而, 在这些地方, 它不是被称为 “香菖蒲”, 只是被称为 “菖蒲” 或 “上好的菖蒲”, 如在下列经文中, 以赛亚书:

雅各啊, 你并没有呼求我; 以色列啊, 你倒厌烦我. 你没有用银子为我买菖蒲, 也没有用祭物的脂油使我饱足. (以赛亚书 43:22, 24)

以西结书:

但人和雅完人拿纺成的线, 亮铁, 桂皮, 菖蒲兑换你的货物. (以西结书 27:19)

耶利米书:

从示巴出的乳香, 从远地出的上好菖蒲奉来给我有何益呢? (耶利米书 6:20)

在这些经文中, 显然, “菖蒲” 表示教会的某种属性, 以及那里的敬拜; 否则, 经上说他们用银子为耶和华买菖蒲, 或从远地来的上好菖蒲要奉给祂, 还能有其它什么原因吗? 由于所表示的是教会的某种属性, 以及它的敬拜, 故可推知, 所表示的是真理或良善, 因为教会及其敬拜的一切都与它们有关. 但至于所表示的是哪种真理或良善, 是属天的还是属灵的, 是外在人的还是内在人的, 这从当按内义考虑所提到的事物顺序时的内义清楚看出来. 显然, “菖蒲” 表示内层真理.

2051. That 'he must be circumcised' ¹ means that they, namely those inside the Church meant by him 'born in the house' and him 'bought with silver', must completely remove from themselves self-love and love of the world is clear from the representation of 'circumcision' as purification from self-love and love of the world, dealt with above in 2039. Here the requirement for them to be circumcised is repeated in the command 'he must be circumcised ¹ ' which expresses the necessity for them to be purified completely from those loves. And because it means those who are inside the Church no reference is made here to sons who are foreigners, for the latter, as shown above in 2049, mean those outside the Church.

[2] From this repetition of what has been stated in the previous verse concerning those 'born in the house' and those 'bought with silver', anyone may see that there is a Divine arcanum that is not evident from the sense of the letter. The arcanum is that purification from those foul loves is absolutely vital inside the Church, for the reason also that people inside the Church are capable of rendering sacred things unclean, something that those outside the Church, that is, gentiles, cannot do. For this reason those inside the Church stand in greater danger of condemnation. What is more, those inside the Church are capable of formulating and adopting false assumptions that are contrary to truths of faith themselves, whereas those outside the Church cannot do so because they have no knowledge of those truths. Thus those inside the Church are capable of profaning sacred truths, but not those outside. For more on these matters, see Volume One, in 1059, 1327, 1328.

Notes de bas de page: