5585. 'Saying, You will not see my face' means that no compassion will show itself. This is clear from the meaning of 'face', when used in reference to a person, as his interiors, that is to say, his affections and consequent thoughts, dealt with in 358, 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4796, 4797, 5102. But when used in reference to the Lord, for the Lord is represented in the highest sense by 'Joseph', 'face' means mercy and compassion, and therefore 'not seeing his face' means a lack of mercy or absence of compassion. Not that the Lord lacks any compassion, for He is pure mercy; but when the intermediary that effects the joining to Him is not present it does seem to a person as though there is no compassion in the Lord. The reason for this is that if no intermediary effecting the joining together is present, no acceptance of good takes place. And if there is no acceptance of good, evil is present instead. If at this time the person calls out to the Lord because evil prompts him to do so, thus for selfish reasons in defiance of anyone else's needs, he is not heard, in which case it seems as though no compassion shows itself.

[2] As regards 'Jehovah's (or the Lord's) face' meaning mercy, this is evident from the Word; for understood properly 'Jehovah's (or the Lord's) face' is Divine love itself, and being Divine love it is the face of mercy since mercy is the expression of love towards the human race set in such miseries. The truth that 'Jehovah's (or the Lord's) face' is Divine Love may be seen from the Lord's face when He was transfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John; that is, when He displayed His Divinity to them,

His face shone like the sun. Matthew 17:2.

It has been shown already that 'the sun' is Divine Love, see 30-38, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 4696. The Lord's actual Divinity had never previously appeared in any face; but His Divine Human had so appeared, through which, seemingly within which, Divine Love - which in relation to the human race is Divine Mercy - showed itself. This Divine Mercy within the Divine Human is called 'the angel of His face' in Isaiah,

I will cause the mercies of Jehovah to be remembered. He has rewarded ¹ them according to His mercies, and according to the abundance of His mercies; and He became their Saviour. And the angel of His face saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them. Isaiah 63:7-9.

The expression 'the angel' is used because 'angels' in the Word means in the internal sense some attribute of the Lord, 1925, 2821, 4085, in this case His mercy, which is why the phrase 'the angel of His face' is used.

[3] 'Jehovah's (or the Lord's) face' is not only mercy but also peace and goodness since these are attributes of mercy, as may also be seen from the following places: In the Blessing,

Jehovah make His face shine upon you and be merciful to you. Jehovah lift up His face upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:25-26.

Here it is quite evident that 'making His face shine' means showing mercy, and 'lifting up His face' means granting His peace. In David,

God be merciful to us and bless us, and make His face shine upon us. Psalms 67:1.

Here also 'face' stands for mercy. In the same author,

Turn us back, O God, and make Your face shine, that we may be saved. Psalms 80:3, 7, 19.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same author,

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and my pursuers. Make Your face shine upon Your servant. Psalms 31:15-16.

Likewise in Psalms 119:134-135. In Daniel,

Hear, our God, the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and make Your face shine upon Your sanctuary that has been made desolate. Daniel 9:17.

Here also 'making His face shine' stands for showing mercy.

[4] In David,

Many are saying, Who will cause us to see good? Lift up the light of Your face upon us. Psalms 4:6-7.

'Lifting up the light of His face' stands for His imparting good because of His mercy. In Hosea,

Let them seek My face; when they are in distress, in the morning let them seek Me. Hosea 5:15.

In David,

Seek My face! Your face, O Jehovah, will I seek. Psalms 27:8-9.

In the same author,

Seek Jehovah and His strength; seek His face continually. Psalms 105:4.

'Seeking Jehovah's face' stands for seeking His mercy. In the same author,

I, in righteousness, shall see Your face. Psalms 17:15.

And in Matthew,

See that you do not despise any of these tiny ones; for I say to you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 18:10.

'Seeing God's face' stands for the enjoyment of peace and good because of His mercy.

[5] But the contrary of this is the hiding or concealment and also the turning away of the face, by which showing no compassion is meant, as in Isaiah,

In an overflowing of My anger I hid My face from you for a moment; but with eternal mercy I will have mercy on you. Isaiah 54:8.

'An overflowing of anger' stands for temptation in which, because the Lord does not seem to show mercy, the words 'I hid My face from you for a moment' are used. In Ezekiel,

I will turn My face away from them. Ezekiel 7:22.

In David,

How long, O Jehovah, will You forget me [as if] for ever? How long will You hide Your face from me? Psalms 13:1

In the same author,

Do not hide Your face from me; do not cast aside Your servant in anger. Psalms 17:8, 9.

In the same author,

Why, O Jehovah, do You abandon my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? Psalms 88:14.

In the same author,

Make haste, answer me, O Jehovah. MY spirit is consumed. Do not hide Your face from me, lest I become like those going down into the pit. Cause me to hear Your mercy in the morning. Psalms 143:7-8.

And in Moses,

My anger will flare up against this people on that day, so that I forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they will be devoured. I will certainly hide My face on that day, because of all the evil which they have done. Deuteronomy 31:17-18.

'Anger flaring up' stands for turning oneself away, 5034, and 'hiding one's face' for not showing any compassion.

[6] These actions are attributed to Jehovah or the Lord, for the reason that although He is never angry and never turns away or hides His face He is said to do so because that is how it seems to someone under the influence of evil. For the person under the influence of evil turns himself away and hides the Lord's face from himself; that is, he removes His mercy from himself. The fact that it is the evils present with a person that do this is also clear from the Word, as in Micah,

Jehovah will hide His face from them at that time, inasmuch as they have rendered their deeds evil. Micah 3:4.

In Ezekiel,

Because they transgressed against Me, therefore I hid My face from them. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them and have hidden My face from them. Ezekiel 39:23-24.

In particular in Isaiah,

Your iniquities are what separate you from your God, and your sins what cause. His face to hide from you. Isaiah 59:2.

From these and many other places one may see the internal sense, which shows itself in various places and is discovered by one who is looking for it.

Bilješke:

381. Verse 8. And I saw, and behold a pale horse, signifies the understanding of the Word then become nought in consequence of evils of life and then of falsities therefrom. This and the following chapter treats of the successive states of the church, that is, of the men of the church in respect to their spiritual life; and their first state is described by "the white horse," the second by "the red horse," the third by "the black horse," and the fourth by "the pale horse." That "the white horse" signifies the understanding of truth from the Word may be seen above n. 355; that "the red horse" signifies the understanding of the Word lost in respect to good n. 364; that "the black horse" signifies the understanding of the Word lost in respect to truth n. 372; from which it is clear that "the pale horse" signifies the understanding of the Word become nought in consequence of evils of life and of falsities therefrom. For when the understanding of the Word is lost in respect to good and in respect to truth, it follows that the understanding of the Word becomes nought; and for the reason that the evil of life and the falsity therefrom reign. It is said the evil of life and the falsity therefrom, because where there is the evil of life there also is falsity, for these make one in man's spirit: it is said in man's spirit, because an evil man equally with a good man can do good and speak truth; but an evil man does this merely from the natural man and thence from the body, while within him, that is, in his spirit, there is no will of good and thus no understanding of truth, therefore neither good nor truth; this is especially evident when such persons become spirits; then, because they are in the spirit, they will nothing but evil and speak nothing but falsity. This is what is here meant by "the pale horse." That "a horse" signifies the understanding may be seen above n. 355; here the understanding of the Word, because "he that sat upon the horse" signifies the Word n. 373.

[2] "Pale" signifies the evil of life and the falsity therefrom, thus "the pale horse" the understanding of the Word become nought in consequence of evils of life and of the falsities therefrom, because paleness indicates and thence signifies the absence of life or deprivation of life, here absence and deprivation of spiritual life, which occurs when there is the evil of life in place of the good of life, and the falsity of faith in place of the truth of faith, for there is then no spiritual life. Spiritual life means the life of heaven, and in the Word this also is called simply "life;" but life not spiritual is such a life as those have who are in hell, and this in the Word is also called "death." That "the pale horse" signifies spiritual death is evident, too, from the rest of this verse, for it is said, "he that sat upon this horse his name was Death, and Hell followed with him."

[3] "Paleness" or "pale" has a like meaning in Jeremiah:

Ask ye, I pray, and see whether a male doth bring forth? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins as one bringing forth, and all faces are turned into paleness? (Jeremiah 30:6).

No one can know what these words involve unless he knows the signification of "bringing forth," "male," "man" [vir], "hands on the loins," and "faces." This is said of those who wish to acquire for themselves love and faith from self-intelligence; to acquire these for oneself is signified by "bringing forth;" "male" and "man" signify intelligence, here self-intelligence; "hands on the loins" signifies hatching these out, and "faces" signify love and faith; for angels and spirits have faces such as their love and faith are, for the affection of good, which is love, and the affection of truth, which is faith, manifest themselves in their faces; therefore "whether a male doth bring forth" signifies whether anyone can acquire for himself the good of love and the truth of faith from self-intelligence. "I see every man with his hands on his loins as one about to bring forth" signifies that everyone is striving to hatch these out from what is his own [ex proprio]; and "all faces are turned into paleness" signifies that thence there is no good or truth, but evil and falsity, thus no life, but spiritual death. This is signified by "paleness of the face." (That "conceptions," "travailings," and "births," in the Word signify spiritual conceptions, travailings, and births which are of love and faith, see Arcana Coelestia 3860, 3868, 3915, 3919, 3965, 9325; that the "male" or "masculine" signifies truth, and intelligence therefrom, n. 749, 2046, 4005, 7838; likewise "man" [vir], n. 749, 1007, 3134, 3309, 3459, 9007; that "the face" signifies the interiors of the mind, thus the things of love and faith, n. 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 5102, 9306, 9546; that the faces with angels are the forms of their affections, see Heaven and Hell 47, 457, 459, 481, 552, 553.)

[4] "To wax pale" has a like meaning in Isaiah:

Jacob shall not be ashamed, neither shall his face wax pale (Isaiah 29:22).

"Jacob" means those who are of the church, and "his face shall not wax pale" means that such shall not be in evils and falsities, but in goods and truths. "Paleness" signifies privation of spiritual life, which occurs when there is no good and truth, but evil and falsity, because when man is deprived of vital heat he then waxes pale and becomes an image of death, as is the case in extreme terrors, the same as when he dies; but when a man dies spiritually his face either becomes red like a coal fire or pale like that of a corpse; thus the infernals appear in the light of heaven.