8478. 'Let no one leave any of it until the morning' means that they must not be anxious to acquire it of themselves. This is clear from the fact that the manna was given every morning and that worms bred in what was left over, meaning that the Lord provides people's requirements every day and that for this reason they ought not to be anxious to acquire them of themselves. The same thing is meant by daily bread in the Lord's Prayer and also by the Lord's words in Matthew,

Do not be anxious for your soul, what you are going to eat or what you are going to drink, nor for your body, what you are going to put on. Why be anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not toil, nor do they spin. Do not therefore be anxious, so that you say, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For all these things the gentiles seek. Does not your heavenly Father know that you have need of all these things? Seek first the kingdom of God ¹ and its righteousness, then all these things will be added to you. Do not therefore be anxious about the morrow; for the morrow will take care of the things that belong to it. Matthew 6:25-end.

Similar words occur in Luke 12:11-12, 22-31.

[2] The present verse and the one that follows refer in the internal sense to concern for the morrow, a concern which was not only forbidden but also condemned. The forbiddance of it is meant by their being told not to leave any of the manna till the morning, and the condemnation of it is meant by worms breeding in any they did leave and its becoming putrid. Anyone who does not view the matter from anywhere beyond the sense of the letter may think that all concern for the morrow is to be avoided, which being so, people should then await their requirements every day from heaven. But a person who views it from a position deeper than the literal meaning, that is, who views it from the internal sense, may recognize what concern for the morrow is used to mean - not concern to obtain food and clothing for oneself, and also resources for the future; for it is not contrary to order to make provision for oneself and one's dependents. But people are concerned about the morrow when they are not content with their lot, do not trust in God but in themselves, and have solely worldly and earthly things in view, not heavenly ones. These people are ruled completely by anxiety over the future, and by the desire to possess all things and exercise control over all other people. That desire is kindled and grows greater and greater, till at length it is beyond all measure. They grieve if they do not realize the objects of their desires, and they are distressed at the loss of them. Nor can they find consolation, for in times of loss they are angry with the Divine. They reject Him together with all belief, and curse themselves. This is what those concerned for the morrow are like.

[3] Those who trust in the Divine are altogether different. Though concerned about the morrow, yet are they unconcerned, in that they are not anxious, let alone worried, when they give thought to the morrow. They remain even-tempered whether or not they realize desires, and they do not grieve over loss; they are content with their lot. If they become wealthy they do not become infatuated with wealth; if they are promoted to important positions they do not consider themselves worthier than others. If they become poor they are not made miserable either; if lowly in status they do not feel downcast. They know that for those who trust in the Divine all things are moving towards an everlasting state of happiness, and that no matter what happens at any time to them, it contributes to that state.

[4] It should be recognized that Divine providence is overall, that is, it is present within the smallest details of all, and that people in the stream of providence are being carried along constantly towards happier things, whatever appearance the means may present. Those in the stream of providence are people who trust in the Divine and ascribe everything to Him. But those not in the stream of providence are people who trust in themselves alone and attribute everything to themselves; theirs is a contrary outlook, for they take providence away from the Divine and claim it as their own. It should be recognized also that to the extent that anyone is in the stream of providence he is in a state of peace; and to the extent that anyone is in a state of peace by virtue of the good of faith, he is in Divine providence. These alone know and believe that the Lord's Divine providence resides within every single thing, indeed within the smallest details of all, as has also been shown in 1919 (end), 4329, 5122 (end), 5894 (end), 6058, 6481-6486, 6490, 7004, 7007, as well as that Divine providence has what is eternal in view, 6491.

[5] Those with the contrary outlook are scarcely willing to allow any mention of providence. Instead they put every single thing down to prudence; and what they do not put down to prudence they put down to fortune or to chance. Some put it down to fate, which they do not ascribe to the Divine but to natural forces. They call those people simple who do not attribute all things to themselves or to natural forces. From all this one may again see what those people are like who are concerned for the morrow, and what those are like who are not concerned for the morrow.

Notes de bas de page:

10219. 'That there may be no plague among them when they are numbered' means in order that there may be no punishment of evil when they do good as from themselves. This is clear from the meaning of 'plague' as the punishment of evil, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'numbering the children of Israel' as arranging and setting truths and forms of the good of faith and love in order, dealt with above in 10217, thus putting them into practice. The expression 'as from themselves' is used because the good deeds which a person does he does as from self; until faith resides in him as a result of love he can see no other origin of those deeds. For good flows in from the Lord and is received by the person; but what is received is not felt initially to be other than something residing and originating in himself. And the person does not perceive that it begins in the Lord until this is made known to him and then believed and acknowledged by him. Till then he is not capable of reflecting on the idea that something flows in from the Divine; and he is totally incapable of perceiving it, that is, feeling it within himself, until he begins to will and desire it to be so.

[2] The situation in all this is like that with the actual life present in a person and like that with the two inner powers of life, the understanding and the will. Is there anyone who does not think, before receiving instruction in the matter, that life dwells innately within him and that his actions therefore originate in himself? Is there anyone who does not think that understanding and will are likewise innate? But in actual fact both his life in general and his understanding and will are flowing into him. Truths constituting the understanding and forms of good composing the will are flowing out of heaven from the Lord, while falsities constituting the understanding and evils composing the will are flowing from hell. For unless spirits and angels are present with a person, acting as channels through which those things flow in, the person cannot have life for even a single moment, nor therefore have any thought or will, as becomes clear from plenty of experiences mentioned at the ends of a number of chapters, where influx is the subject; see the places referred to in 9223, 9276(end), 9682.

[3] But for as long as a person thinks that everything he does originates in himself, both good deeds and bad ones, he is unmoved by good influences and evils cling to him. As soon however as he acknowledges and believes that good desires flow in from the Lord and do not begin in himself, and that evil desires flow in from hell, he is moved by good influences, and evils stop clinging to him. Furthermore to the extent that the good influences move him the evils are removed, and in this way he is purified and delivered from them. But for as long as the person's state is such that he is not capable of perceiving or feeling the presence of good influences from the Lord, he performs good deeds as from himself; nevertheless he ought to acknowledge and believe that they begin in the Lord. When the person does this he is also delivered from evils; but in order that he may be delivered from the evils, that acknowledgement must be a confession not of the lips alone but of the heart itself.

[4] The fact that 'plague' means the punishment of evil is clear without explanation. There are three plagues or punishments which follow those who attribute truths and forms of the good of faith and love to themselves, that is, who think that they merit heaven because of their deeds. For those who attribute them to themselves are also given to think that they merit heaven because of what they themselves have done. Those three punishments are,

1. Their inability to receive any good of love or truth of faith at all;

2. Evils and falsities constantly pursuing them;

3. Destruction of the truths and forms of good received since early childhood.

These three punishments are meant by the three plagues which were presented by the prophet Gad to David because of his numbering the people, 2 Samuel 24:13.

[5] These were,

1. Seven years of famine;

2. Flight for three months before his enemies;

3. Three days of pestilence.

For 'famine' means a lack and shortage of the forms of good and of the truths that belong to faith and love, since these are meant by bread, food, wheat, barley, oil, and wine, which are lacking so long as famine lasts.

'Flight before enemies' however is used to mean in the internal sense pursuit by evils and falsities; for people who attribute good and truth to themselves cannot fight against the evils and falsities that come from hell, 9978, these being in the spiritual sense the enemies before whom they flee and by whom they are pursued.

But 'pestilence' means the laying waste and annihilation of the forms of good and the truths received since early childhood, 7505. David's choice of the pestilence and the death from it of up to seventy thousand men meant that among the Israelite and Jewish nation all truth and good of faith and love would be destroyed, which was indeed what happened. For they did not acknowledge the Lord; yet He is the Source of all good and all truth. Three days meant to completeness, as did the seventy thousand men who died.