9809. 'So that they may serve Me in the priestly office' means that which is representative of the Lord. This is clear from the representation of 'the priestly office' in the highest sense as all the service performed by the Lord as the Saviour. And the moving force behind whatever He does as the Saviour is Divine Love, thus Divine Good since all good is an aspect of love. So it is also that in the highest sense 'the priestly office' means the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love. There is Divine Good and there is Divine Truth. Divine Good exists within the Lord, and so is His Essential Being (Esse), which in the Word is called Jehovah. But Divine Truth is an emanation from the Lord, and so is the Coming-into-being (Existere) from that Essential Being; this is meant in the Word by God. And since that which is the Coming-into-being from Himself is nonetheless Himself, the Lord is also Divine Truth, which is what is Divine and His in the heavens. For the heavens are a coming-into-being from Him, because the angels there are recipients of what is Divine and His, celestial angels being recipients of the Divine Good which emanates from Him, but spiritual angels recipients of the Divine Truth springing from that Good. All this helps to make clear what it was belonging to the Lord that was represented by the priestly office, and what it was belonging to the Lord that was represented by the royal office, namely the Divine Good of His Divine Love by the priestly office, and the Divine Truth springing from that Good by the royal office.

[2] The truth that the priestly office represented the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love, thus all the service performed by the Lord as the Saviour, is clear from the following declarations in the Word: In David,

Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies as Your footstool. Jehovah will send the rod of strength from Zion; have dominion in the midst of Your enemies. Your people will be prompt to offer themselves on the day of Your power, in the beauty of holiness. From the womb of the dawn You have the dew of Your birth. Jehovah has sworn and will not repent, You are a priest for ever, after the manner ¹ of Melchizedek. The Lord is on Your right hand; He struck kings on the day of His anger. He has judged among the nations, He has filled [the places] with dead bodies, He has stricken [one who was] head over much land. He will drink from the stream by the way; therefore he will lift up his head. Psalms 110:1-7.

These declarations show what the Lord as a priest, consequently what the priestly office within the Lord represented, namely the whole work of saving the human race. For the subject in this Psalm is the Lord's conflicts with the hells when He was in the world. Through those conflicts He acquired for Himself a power over the hells that was almighty and Divine, by means of which He saved the human race and also today saves all who accept Him. This very salvation, because the Divine Good of Divine Love is the moving force behind the accomplishment of it, is the reason why it says in reference to the Lord, 'You are a priest for ever, after the manner of Melchizedek'. The name Melchizedek means King of Righteousness, which the Lord was called because He had become [the One in whom there was] righteousness and consequently salvation, as accords with what has been shown in 9715.

[3] But since the declarations in this Psalm each contain arcana which have to do with the Lord's conflicts when He was in the world, and those arcana cannot be revealed without the internal sense, let a brief explanation of them be supplied. Jehovah said to my Lord means that the subject is the Lord when He was in the world. 'Lord' here is used to mean the Lord's Divine Human, as is clear in Matthew 22:43-45; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-44. Sit at My right hand means the almighty power of Divine Good, exercised through Divine Truth, the Lord being Divine Truth at that time, and Divine Truth being that with which He entered into and won the battle. For the meaning of 'sitting at the right hand' as a state of power, and in reference to the Divine as almighty power, see 3387, 4592, 4933, 6948, 7518, 7673, 8281, 9133; and the fact that all the power which good possesses is exercised through truth, 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643.

[4] Till I make Your enemies as Your footstool means until the time when the evils which exist in and spring from the hells have been subdued and made subject to His Divine power. Jehovah will send the rod of strength from Zion means the power at that time received from celestial good, 'Zion' meaning this good, see 2362, 9055. Have dominion in the midst of Your enemies means that this good has dominion over evils. Evils are enemies because they are contrary to what is Divine, especially to the Lord. Your people will be prompt to offer themselves on the day of Your power means the Divine Truths engaging in conflict then. In the beauty of holiness means which spring from Divine Good. From the womb of the dawn You have the dew of Your birth means conception from Divine Good itself, from which He had Divine Truth. Jehovah has sworn and will not repent means what is sure and certain.

[5] You are a priest for ever means the Divine Good of Divine Love within Him. After the manner of Melchizedek means that His Divine Human is of a like nature. The name Melchizedek means King of Righteousness, thus Jehovah who has become Righteousness through conflicts and victories, 9715. The Lord is on Your right hand means Divine Truth from Him at that time, through which almighty power is exercised, as above. He struck kings on the day of His anger means the destruction of falsities then, 'the day of anger' being the time when He fought against evils and destroyed them. 'Kings' are truths and in the contrary sense falsities, 2015, 2069, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148. He has judged among the nations means the dispersion of evils; for 'nations' are forms of good and in the contrary sense evils, 1259, 1260, 1849, 6005. He has filled [the places] with dead bodies means the resulting spiritual death, which is a total deprivation of truth and good. He has stricken [one who was] head over much land means casting hellish self-love down into the hells, and the damnation of that love. He will drink from the stream by the way; therefore he will lift up his head means the endeavour to rise up from there by means of reasonings about truths. This is the meaning which those in heaven perceive within these words when that Psalm is read by someone in the world.

[6] Since the priestly office was representative of the Lord's whole work of salvation which was motivated by Divine Love, the performance of all the worship of God furthermore belonged to the office of the priest. Acts of worship at that time consisted first and foremost in offering burnt offerings, sacrifices, and minchahs, in setting the loaves on the table of the Presence, in keeping the lamps alight day by day, and in offering incense, and consequently in expiating or making atonement for the people and forgiving sins. In addition to all this their office consisted, when they were at the same time prophets, in explaining God's law and in teaching. The fact that all these duties were performed by Aaron and his sons is clear from the description in Moses of the establishment of the priesthood; and all those duties, it is self-evident, were representative of the Lord's acts of salvation. All this also explains why the portions of the sacrifices and minchahs that were Jehovah's, that is, the Lord's, were given to Aaron, likewise various kinds of first fruits as well as tithes, see Exodus 29:1-36; Leviticus 7:35-36; 23:15-22; 27:21; Numbers 5:6-11; 18:8-20, 25-end; Deuteronomy 18:1-4. The firstborn were also given; but in place of all the firstborn of human beings stood the Levites, who were given as a gift to Aaron, see Numbers 1:47; 3:9, because they were Jehovah's, Numbers 3:12-13, 40-45.

[7] Because the Lord as regards His whole work of salvation was represented by the high priest, and the actual work of salvation by his office, which is called the priestly office, no inheritance and portion among the people was given to Aaron and his sons; for it says that Jehovah God is their inheritance and portion, Numbers 18:20. Nor was any given to the Levites, because they belonged to Aaron, Numbers 26:58-63; Deuteronomy 10:9; 18:1-2. For the people represented heaven and the Church; but Aaron and his sons, and the Levites, represented the good of love and faith, which composes heaven and the Church, and so represented the Lord, who is the source of that good. Therefore He gave over the land to the people as an inheritance, but not to the priests, for the Lord is present in people, but not among them as an individual person.

[8] Something similar is implied by the following words in Isaiah,

You will be called the priests of Jehovah, you will be spoken of as the ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of the gentiles, and in their glory you will glory. Isaiah 61:6.

'Eating the wealth of the gentiles' stands for making forms of good one's own, 'glorying in their glory' for having the benefit of truths, and so for the joy and happiness which those forms of good and truths give. As regards the meaning of 'the gentiles' or 'the nations' as forms of good, see 1259, 1260, 4574, 6005; and as regards that of 'glory' as truth from the Divine, 9429.

[9] Various places in the Word mention 'kings and priests', also 'kings, princes, priests, and prophets' in a series. But in these places truths in their entirety are meant in the internal sense by 'kings', and leading truths by 'princes'; forms of good in their entirety are meant by 'priests', and doctrinal teachings by 'prophets', as in the Book of Revelation,

Jesus Christ has made us kings and priests. Revelation 1:6; 5:10.

In Jeremiah,

The house of Israel is ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets. Jeremiah 2:26.

In the same prophet,

On that day the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will perish, and the priests will be dumbfounded and the prophets left wondering. Jeremiah 4:9.

In the same prophet,

At that time they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets. Jeremiah 8:1.

In the abstract sense, separate from actual persons, truths in their entirety are meant by 'kings', see 1672, 2015, 2069, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148; leading truths by 'princes', 1482, 2089, 5044; forms of good by 'priests', 1728, 2015 (end), 3670, 6148; and doctrinal teachings derived from and concerning all these by 'prophets', 2534, 7269. The Lord's kingship furthermore is meant by His name Christ, Anointed One, or Messiah, and His priesthood by the name Jesus; for Jesus means Saviour or Salvation, regarding which the following is stated in Matthew,

The angel appearing to Joseph in a dream said to him, You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21.

Since this ² belonged to the priestly office the high priest's duty of expiating or making atonement for people's sins had the same representation, Leviticus 4:26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 9:7; 15:15, 30.

[10] Since evil cannot possibly be combined with good, because each repels the other, various kinds of acts of purification were ordained for Aaron and his sons whenever they served in the priestly office, whether at the altar or in the tent of meeting. It was also ordained for example that the high priest should not marry anyone other than a virgin; he was not allowed to marry a widow, divorced woman, or prostitute, Leviticus 21:13-15. If any of Aaron's sons who were unclean had eaten from the holy offerings they should be cut off, Leviticus 22:2-9. None of Aaron's seed who had a defect should offer bread, Leviticus 21:17-21. The high priest should not use a razor on his head, nor tear his clothes, nor defile himself with any dead body, not even for his father or mother, nor go out of the sanctuary, Leviticus 21:10-12. These and many other laws, as has been stated, were laid down because the high priest represented the Lord and His Divine Goodness, and the nature of good is such that no evil can be combined with it. For good recoils from evil, and evil has a horror of good, as hell has of heaven; therefore it is impossible for them to be joined to each other.

[11] As regards truth however, its nature is such that it can be combined with falsity, but not falsity that has evil in it, only that which has good in it. That is, it can be combined with the kind of good that exists with very young children or older boys and girls who are still at the age of innocence, or with upright gentiles who are uninformed; and it can be combined with the kind of good that exists with all who are confined to the literal sense of the Word and to teachings derived from it and yet have the good of life as their end in view. For this good, if it is the end in view, dispels from falsity all inclination towards evil, and uses it in such a way that it makes it look to outward appearance like truth.

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878. 'He put out his hand' means his own power. 'And he took hold of it, and brought it in to himself into the ark' means that self was the source of the good he did and of the truth he thought. This is clear from the meaning of 'the hand' as power. Here therefore his own power from which he acts is meant. Indeed 'putting out his hand and taking hold of the dove and bringing it in to himself' is attaching and attributing to himself the truth meant by the dove. That 'the hand' means power, and also the exercise of power, and resulting self-confidence, is clear from many places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

I will visit upon the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Asshur, for he has said, By the power of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding. Isaiah 10:12-13.

Here 'hand' clearly stands for his own power to which he attributed what he had done, on account of which visitation was made on him.

[2] In the same prophet,

Moab will stretch out his hands in the midst of him as swimmer does to swim, but He will lay low his pride together with the powerfulness ¹ of his hands. Isaiah 25:11.

'Hands' stands for his own power resulting from projection of self above others, and so from pride. In the same prophet,

Their inhabitants were shorn of power, ² they were dismayed and filled with shame. Isaiah 37:27.

'Shorn of power' ² stands for having no power. In the same prophet,

Will the clay say to its potter, What are you making? or your work [say], He has no hands? Isaiah 45:9.

'He has no hands' stands for no power to it. In Ezekiel,

The king will mourn, and the prince will be wrapped in stupidity, and the hands of the people of the land will be all atremble. Ezekiel 7:17.

Here 'the hands' stands for power. In Micah,

Woe to those devising iniquity and working out evil upon their beds, which they carry out at morning light, and because they make their own hand their god! Micah 2:1.

'Hand' stands for their own power which they trust in as their god. In Zechariah,

Woe to the worthless shepherd deserting the flock! The sword will fall upon his arm and upon his right eye. His arm will be wholly withered, and his right eye utterly darkened. Zechariah 11:17.

[3] Since 'hands' means powers, men's evils and falsities are throughout the Word therefore called 'the works of their hands'. Evils come from the will side of man's proprium, falsities from the understanding side. The fact that this is the source of evils and falsities becomes quite clear from the nature of the human proprium, that it is nothing but evil and falsity. That this is the nature of the proprium see what has been stated already in 39, 41, 141, 150, 154, 210, 215. Because 'the hands' in general means power, the Word therefore frequently attributes hands to Jehovah, or the Lord. And in those contexts 'hands' in the internal sense means omnipotence, as in Isaiah, Jehovah, Your hand has been lifted up. Isaiah 26:11. 'Hand' stands for Divine power. In the same prophet,

Jehovah stretches out ³ His hand, they are all destroyed. Isaiah 31:3.

'Hand' stands for Divine power. In the same prophet,

Over the work of My hands command Me. My hands stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. Isaiah 45:11-12.

'Hands' stands for Divine power. In the Word regenerate people are often called 'the work of Jehovah's hands'. In the same prophet,

My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand measured out the heavens. Isaiah 48:13.

'Hand' and 'right hand' stand for omnipotence.

[4] In the same prophet,

Has My hand been shortened, that it cannot redeem? Is there no power in Me to deliver? Isaiah 50:2.

'Hand' and 'power' stand for Divine power. In Jeremiah,

You did bring Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm. Jeremiah 32:17, 21.

'Power' in verse Jeremiah 32:17 and 'hand' in verse Jeremiah 32:21 stand for Divine power. It is quite often stated that 'they were brought out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm': in Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, On the day I chose Israel and lifted up My hand to the seed of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I lifted up My hand to them, to lead them out of the land of Egypt. Ezekiel 20:5-6, 23.

In Moses,

Israel saw the great work ⁴ which Jehovah did on the Egyptians. Exodus 14:31.

[5] All these quotations plainly show that 'the hand' means power. Indeed so much was the hand the symbol of power that it also became its representative, as is clear from the miracles performed in Egypt, when Moses was commanded to stretch out his rod or his hand and they were accomplished -

Moses stretched out his hand and there was hail all over Egypt. Exodus 9:22-23.

Moses stretched out his hand and there was darkness. Exodus 10:21-22.

Moses stretched out his hand and rod over the Sea Suph and it was dried up, and he stretched out his hand and it returned. Exodus 14:11, 27. ⁵

No mentally normal person can believe that any power resided in Moses' hand or rod. Rather, because the lifting up and stretching out of the hand symbolized Divine power, that action also became its representative in the Jewish Church.

[6] The same applies to Joshua's stretching out his javelin, described as follows,

Jehovah said, Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand towards Ai, for I will give it into your hand. When Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand, they entered the city and took it. And Joshua did not draw back the hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. Joshua 8:18-19, 26.

This also makes clear the nature of the representatives which comprised the external features of the Jewish Church. Consequently the Word is such that details recorded in its external sense do not give the appearance of being representatives of the Lord and His kingdom, such as the reference in these quotations to Moses or Joshua stretching out his hand, and all other details recorded there. In these it is never evident that such things are being represented as long as the mind is fixed solely on the historical details of the letter. From this it is also evident how far the Jews had receded from a true understanding of the Word and of the religious practices of their Church by focusing the whole of their worship purely on things of an external nature, even to the extent of attributing power to Moses' rod and to Joshua's javelin, when in fact these had no more power in them than a piece of wood. Yet because they did symbolize the Lord's omnipotence, which was at the time understood in heaven, signs and miracles were accomplished when by command they stretched out their hand or rod. Something similar happened when Moses on the hilltop held up his hands. When he did so Joshua was winning, but when he dropped them he was losing. So they held his hands up for him. Exodus 17:9-13.

[7] It was similar with the laying on of hands when men were being consecrated, as the people did to the Levites, Numbers 8:9-10, 12, and as Moses did to Joshua when the latter was to succeed him, Numbers 27:18, 23 - the purpose being to confer power. And this is why in our own times the ceremonies of ordination and of blessing are accompanied by the laying on of hands. To what extent the hand meant and represented power becomes clear from the following references in the Word to Uzzah and Jeroboam,

Of Uzzah it says that he reached out (his hand) to the Ark of God and took hold of it, and as a consequence died. 2 Samuel 6:6-7.

'The Ark' represented the Lord, and so everything holy and heavenly. 'Uzzah reached out to the Ark' represented man's own power, which is his proprium. And because the proprium is unholy the word 'hand' is left out but nevertheless understood. It is left out to prevent angels perceiving anything so profane as his touching with his hand that which was holy. And because he 'reached out' he died.

[8] In reference to Jeroboam,

It happened, when he heard the saying of the man of God which he cried out against the altar, that Jeroboam reached out his hand from above the altar saying, Lay hold of him. And his hand which he reached out against him dried up, and he could not draw it back to himself. He said to the man of God, Entreat now the face ⁶ of Jehovah your God, that my hand may be restored to me. And the man of God entreated the face ⁶ of Jehovah and his hand was restored to him, and became as it was before. 1 Kings 13:4-6.

Here similarly 'reaching out his hand' means man's own power, or proprium, which is unholy. He was willing to violate what was holy by stretching out his hand against the man of God, as a consequence of which his hand was dried up. Yet because he was an idolater and therefore not able to profane, as stated already, his hand was restored. The fact that 'the hand' means and represents power becomes clear from representatives in the world of spirits. In that world a bare arm sometimes comes into sight possessing so much strength that it can break bones to bits and crush their inner marrow to nothing at all. It consequently strikes so much terror as to cause heart-failure. It really does possess such strength.

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