9545. 'And you shall put on the table the bread of faces' means the Lord there in respect of celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the table' as the receptacle of celestial blessings; from the meaning of 'bread' in the highest sense as the Lord, and in a related sense as the good of love that springs from Him, so that the Lord in respect of celestial good is meant, dealt with in 2165, 2177, 3464, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915, 'bread' in general meaning all heavenly food or the food that nourishes a person's spiritual life, 3478, 6118, 8410, 9323; and from the meaning of 'faces', when the word refers to the Lord, as everything that springs from Divine Love, such as innocence, peace, and joy, thus heaven itself present with people on earth and with angels, 222, 223, 5585, 9306.

223. Since the Lord's face is mercy, peace, and all good, it is clear that He always looks with mercy on anybody, and never turns His face away from anybody. Instead it is man, when governed by evil, who turns away his face, as the Lord has said through Isaiah,

Your iniquities are what separate you from your God, and your sins what cause His face ¹ to hide from you. Isaiah 59:2.

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