3118. 'The man bowed, and bowed down to Jehovah' means gladness and joy. This is clear from the meaning of 'bowing' and of 'bowing down' as being glad and joyful. Bowing and bowing down are movements of the body that express humility, or humility in act, either in a state of grief or in a state of joy - in a state of grief when things do not turn out as one wishes, in a state of joy when they do turn out well, as here when Rebekah, according to the prayer already in the man's heart, gave him a drink from her pitcher, and also gave a drink to the camels. For bowing down can be a movement of the body expressing joy as well, see 2927, 2950. The reason why gladness is mentioned as well as joy is that 'gladness' in the Word has reference to truth, but 'joy' to good. Furthermore gladness belongs to the face whereas joy belongs to the heart; or what amounts to the same, gladness belongs to spiritual affection, or to truth, joy to celestial affection, or to good. Thus gladness occurs in a less degree than joy, as also does 'bowing' than 'bowing down'. This is also evident from the fact that the spiritual member of the Church merely bows before the Lord and calls upon grace, whereas the celestial member of the Church bows down before the Lord and pleads for mercy, 598, 981, 2423. Both are mentioned here on account of the marriage of truth and good existing in every individual part of the Word, 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712.

981. That 'God blessed' means the Lord's presence and grace is clear from the meaning of 'blessing'. In the Word, in the external sense, 'blessing' means being enriched with all earthly and bodily good. This is also how all people who keep to the external sense explain the Word, as Jews did in the past, and still do so today, and also as Christians do, especially at the present time. Consequently they have focused the Divine blessing, and still do, on wealth, on having plenty of everything, and on personal glory. But in the internal sense 'blessing' means being enriched with all spiritual and celestial good, a blessing which neither does nor can possibly exist unless it comes from the Lord. This is why 'blessing' means the Lord's presence and grace. The Lord's presence and grace carry such blessing within them. The expression 'presence' is used because the Lord is present only in charity, and the subject at this point is the regenerate spiritual man who acts from charity. The Lord is present with everyone, but as is a person's distance from charity, so is the degree of the Lord's presence, or so is He, let me say, more absent, that is, the Lord is more remote.

[2] The reason the expression grace and not mercy is used - a reason, I presume, that has remained unknown up to now - is that celestial people do not talk of grace but of mercy, while spiritual people talk not of mercy but of grace. This difference has its origins in the fact that celestial people acknowledge that the human race is wholly unclean, and in itself excrementitious and hellish, on account of which they plead for the Lord's mercy - mercy being the appropriate word for people in this condition.

[3] Spiritual people however, though they are aware that the human condition is such, do not acknowledge it, for they still remain in, and love, their proprium; and therefore they find it difficult to make mention of mercy but easy to do so of grace. It is the different kind of humility existing with each that produces this verbal difference. The more anyone loves himself and imagines that he is able to do good of himself and so merit salvation, the less he is able to plead for the Lord's mercy. The reason some [are able to plead] for grace at all is that it has become a commonplace expression. When used however it contains little that is the Lord's and much that is a person's own. This anyone can discover in himself when he uses the expression 'the grace of the Lord'.