238. And miserable and poor, signifies that they do not know that they have neither knowledges of truth nor knowledges of good. This is evident from the signification of "miserable" or "pitiable," as meaning those who are in no knowledges of truth; and from the signification of "poor" as meaning those who are in no knowledges of good. That this is the meaning of "miserable" and "poor" is evident from many passages in the Word, and also from this, that spiritual misery and poverty are nothing else than a lack of the knowledges of truth and good, for the spirit is then miserable and poor; but when the spirit possesses these it is rich and wealthy; therefore also "riches" and "wealth" in the Word signifies spiritual riches and wealth, which are the knowledges of truth and good (as was shown just above, n. 236).

[2] "Miserable and poor" are terms used in many passages in the Word. He who is ignorant of the spiritual sense of the Word believes that by these no others are meant than the miserable and poor in the world. These, however, are not meant, but those who are not in truths and goods and in the knowledges thereof; and by the "miserable" indeed, those who are not in truths because not in the knowledges of truths, and by the "poor" those who are not in goods because not in the knowledges of goods. As these two, truths and goods, are meant by these two expressions, the two in many places are mentioned together; as in the passages that now follow. In David:

I am miserable and poor, Lord, remember me (Psalms 40:17; 70:5). Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, answer me, for I am miserable and poor (Psalms 86:1).

The "miserable and poor" here mean evidently those who are miserable and poor, not in respect to worldly riches but in respect to spiritual riches, as David says this of himself; therefore he also said, "Jehovah, incline thine ear, and answer me."

[3] In the same:

The wicked draw out the sword and bend their bow, to cast down the miserable and poor (Psalms 37:14).

Here also "the miserable and poor" mean evidently those who are spiritually such and yet long for the knowledges of truth and good, for it is said that "the wicked draw out the sword and bend the bow," "sword" signifying falsity combating against truth and striving to destroy it, and "bow" the doctrine of falsity fighting against the doctrine of truth; therefore it is said that they do this "to cast down the miserable and poor." (That "sword" signifies truth combating against falsity, and in a contrary sense, falsity combating against truth, see above, n. 131; and that "bow" signifies doctrine in both senses, see Arcana Coelestia 2686, 2709)

[4] So in another place in the same:

The wicked man hath persecuted the miserable and poor and the broken in heart, to slay them (Psalms 109:16).

In Isaiah:

The fool speaketh folly, and his heart doeth iniquity to practice hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul, and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want. He counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment (Isaiah 32:6-7).

Here likewise "the miserable and poor" mean those who are destitute of the knowledges of truth and good; therefore it is said that "the wicked counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by the words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment;" "by the words of a lie" means by falsities, and "to speak judgment" is to speak what is right. Because such are treated of, it is also said that he "practices hypocrisy and speaketh error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want." "To practice hypocrisy and to speak error" is to do evil from falsity, and to speak falsity from evil; "to make empty the hungry soul" is to deprive those of the knowledges of good who long for them, and "to make him who thirsteth for drink to want" is to deprive those of the knowledges of truth who long for them.

In the same:

The miserable shall have joy in Jehovah, and the poor of men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 29:19).

Here also "the miserable and poor" signify those who are in lack of truth and good and yet long for them; of these, and not of those who are miserable and poor in respect to worldly wealth, it is said that they "shall have joy in Jehovah, and shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."

[5] From this it can be seen what is signified by the "miserable and poor" in other passages of the Word, as in the following. In David:

The poor shall not always be forgotten; and the hope of the miserable shall not perish for ever (Psalms 9:18).

In the same:

God shall judge the miserable of the people, He shall save the sons of the poor. He shall deliver the poor when he crieth, and the miserable. He shall spare the weak and the poor, and the souls of the poor He shall save (Psalms 72:4, 12-13).

In the same:

The miserable shall see, they that seek Jehovah ¹ shall be glad. For Jehovah heareth the poor (Psalms 69:32-33).

In the same:

Jehovah deliverest the miserable from him that is too strong for him, the poor from them that despoil him (Psalms 35:10).

In the same:

The miserable and the poor praise Thy name (Psalms 74:21; 109:22).

In the same:

I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the miserable, and the judgment of the poor (Psalms 140:12).

Also elsewhere (as Isaiah 10:2; Jeremiah 22:16; Ezekiel 16:49; 18:12; 22:29; Amos 8:4; Deuteronomy 15:11; 24:14). "The miserable" and "the poor" are both mentioned in these passages, because it is according to the style of the Word that where truth is spoken of, good is also spoken of; and in a contrary sense, where falsity is spoken of, evil is also spoken of, since they make a one, and as if it were a marriage; this is why "the miserable and the poor" are mentioned together; for, by "the miserable" those deficient in the knowledges of truth are meant, and by "the poor" those deficient in the knowledges of good. (That there is such a marriage almost everywhere in the prophetical parts of the Word, see Arcana Coelestia 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314.)

For the same reason it is said in what follows, "and blind and naked;" for by "the blind" one who is in no understanding of truth is meant, and by "the naked" one who is in no understanding and will of good. So in the following verse, "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried by fire, and white garments that thou mayest be clothed;" for by "gold tried by fire" the good of love is meant, and by "white garments" the truths of faith. And further, "That the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see," which means, lest evils and falsities be seen. So also elsewhere. But that there is such a marriage in the particulars of the Word, none but those who know its internal sense can see.

Notes de bas de page:

288. Verse 9. And when the animals gave glory and honor and thanksgiving, signifies Divine truth and Divine good and glorification. This is evident from the signification of "glory and honor," as being, in reference to the Lord, Divine truth and Divine good; "glory" being Divine truth, and "honor" Divine good (of which presently); and from the signification of "thanksgiving," as being glorification. Let it first be told what is here meant by glorification. Glorification, when it is from the Lord, is a perpetual influx with angels and men of Divine good with Divine truth; and glorification of the Lord among angels and men is reception and acknowledgment in heart that all good and all truth are from the Lord, and thence all intelligence, wisdom, and blessedness; this in the spiritual sense is what "giving thanks" signifies. Moreover, all glorification of the Lord by the angels of heaven and by the men of the church is not from themselves, but flows in from the Lord. Glorification that is from men and not from the Lord is not from the heart, but only from the activity of the memory, and thus from the mouth; and what goes forth from the memory and the mouth only, and not through them from the heart, is not heard in heaven, thus is not received by the Lord, but goes out into the world like any other sonorous words. This glorification is not an acknowledgment in heart that all good and all truth are from the Lord. It is said an acknowledgment in heart, which means from the life of the love; for "heart," in the Word, signifies love, and love is a life according to the Lord's precepts; when man is in this life, then there is glorification of the Lord, which is acknowledgment from the heart that all good and truth is from the Lord. This is meant by "being glorified," in John:

If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, and that ye be My disciples (John 15:7-8).

[2] "The four animals," which were cherubim, "gave glory and honor and thanksgiving," because Divine truth and Divine good and glorification, which are signified by glory, honor, and thanksgiving, proceed and flow in from the Lord; for these cherubim signify the Lord in respect to providence and guard (See above, n. 277); and they were "in the midst of the throne, and around the throne" (as is manifest from verse 6), and the Lord was "upon the throne" (verse 2); from which it is clear that these things were from the Lord; but reception and acknowledgment in heart are meant by the words of the verse following, where it is said, that when these things had been heard, "the four and twenty elders fell down before Him that sitteth on the throne, and worshipped Him that liveth unto ages of ages, and cast their crowns before the throne."

[3] In the Word, "glory and honor" is a frequent expression, and "glory" everywhere signifies truth, and "honor" good. The two are mentioned together because in the particulars of the Word there is a heavenly marriage, which is the conjunction of truth and good. There is this marriage in the particulars of the Word, because the Divine that proceeds from the Lord is Divine truth united to Divine good; and because these together make heaven and also make the church, therefore this marriage is in the particulars of the Word; so also in the particulars of the Word is the Divine from the Lord, and the Lord Himself; this is why the Word is most holy. (That there is such a marriage in the particulars of the Word, see above, n. 238; and Arcana Coelestia, n. 2516, Arcana Coelestia 2712, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314)

[4] That "glory" signifies Divine truth from the Lord, see above (n. 33); that "honor" signifies Divine good follows from what has been said concerning the heavenly marriage in the particulars of the Word; as can also be seen from the following passages. In David:

Jehovah made the heavens; glory and honor are before Him; strength and splendor are in His sanctuary (Psalms 96:5-6).

By "the heavens" the Divine that proceeds from the Lord is meant, since the heavens are from His Divine; and as the Divine that proceeds and makes the heavens is Divine truth and Divine good, it is said, "glory and honor are before Him;" "sanctuary" means the church; Divine good and Divine truth therein are meant by "strength and splendor." (That the Divine of the Lord makes the heavens, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 7-12; and that the Divine of the Lord in the heavens is Divine truth and Divine good, n. 7, 13, 133, 137, 139-140.)

[5] In the same:

O Jehovah God, Thou art very great; Thou hast put on glory and honor (Psalms 104:1).

"To put on glory and honor" signifies, in reference to Jehovah, His girding Himself with Divine truth and Divine good, for these proceed from Him, and thus gird Him, and make the heavens; therefore in the Word they are called "His vesture" and "His covering" (See above, n. 65, 271).

[6] In the same:

The works of Jehovah are great. Glory and honor are His work (Psalms 111:2-3

"The works of Jehovah" mean all things that proceed from Him and are done by Him; and as these are referable to Divine truth and Divine good, it is said, "His work is glory and honor."

[7] In the same:

Generation to generation shall praise Thy works, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. Upon the honor of the magnificence of Thy glory and the words of Thy wonders will I meditate. And I will make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glory of the honor of His kingdom (Psalms 145:4-5, 12).

"The honor of the magnificence of glory" means Divine good united to Divine truth; and "the glory of the honor" means Divine truth united to Divine good. This is so said because the unition is reciprocal; for Divine good proceeds from the Lord united to Divine truth; but by the angels in heaven and by the men of the church Divine truth is received and is united to Divine good; it is therefore said, "the glory of the honor of His kingdom," for "His kingdom" means heaven and the church.

[8] In the same:

Glory and honor wilt thou lay upon Him; for thou settest Him blessings forever (Psalms 21:5, 6).

These things were said of the Lord, and "glory and honor upon Him" means all Divine truth and Divine good.

[9] In the same:

Gird Thy sword upon the thigh, O mighty One in Thy glory and honor. And in Thy honor mount, ride upon the word of truth (Psalms 45:3, 4).

This also is said of the Lord; "to gird the sword upon the thigh" signifies Divine truth combating from Divine good (that this is signified by "sword upon the thigh," see Arcana Coelestia 10488); and because the Lord from Divine truth subjugated the hells, and brought the heavens into order, He is said to be "mighty in glory and honor," and also "in honor mount and ride upon the word of truth;" this signifies to act from Divine good through Divine truth.

[10] In the same:

Thou hast made Him to be a little less than the angels, but thou hast crowned Him with glory and honor (Psalms 8:5). This also is said of the Lord; His state of humiliation is described by "thou hast made Him to be a little less than the angels," and His state of glorification by "thou hast crowned Him with glory and honor." "Glorifying" means uniting the Divine Itself to His Human, and also making His Human Divine.

[11] In Isaiah:

Rejoice, ye wilderness and dry place, and let the plain of the desert exult and blossom as the rose, in blossoming let it blossom and exalt; the glory of Lebanon has been given to it, the honor of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of Jehovah, and the honor of our God (Isaiah 35:1, 2).

This treats of the enlightenment of the Gentiles; that ignorance of truth and good is signified by "the wilderness and the dry place;" their joy in consequence of instruction in truths and enlightenment is signified by "rejoicing, exulting, and blossoming;" "the glory of Lebanon given to them" signifies Divine truth; and "the honor of Carmel and Sharon" signifies Divine good which they receive; this is why it is also said "they shall see the glory of Jehovah, and the honor of our God."

[12] In Revelation:

The nations that have been saved shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor to it. And the glory and honor of the nations shall be brought into it (Revelation 21:24, 26).

This is said of the New Jerusalem, by which a new church in the heavens and on earth is signified; "nations" there signify all who are in good; and the "kings of the earth" all who are in truths from good; it is said of both that "they shall bring their glory and honor into it," which means worship from the good of love to the Lord and from the truths of faith which are from the good of charity towards the neighbor.