시편 23편은 세계에서 가장 잘 알려져 있고 가장 사랑받는 문학 작품 중 하나이며, 지금까지 쓰여진 시 중 최고의 시일 수도 있습니다. 또한 비유적 언어의 힘을 보여주는 좋은 예이기도 합니다: 우리는 친절한 목자가 푸른 초장과 좋은 물로 인도하는 양이 된 우리 자신의 모습을 통해 깊은 것을 읽어냅니다. 사망의 음침한 골짜기로 두려움 없이 나아갈 수 있는 자신감과 주님이 차려주신 식탁과 넘치도록 가득 찬 잔의 사랑과 배려를 느낄 수 있는 힘이 생깁니다.

그러나 사람들이 모르는 것은 이 언어가 실제로 정확한 내적 의미를 가지고 있으며, 우리가 그것을 볼 때 시에는 더 깊은 아름다움이 있다는 것입니다. 그 이유는 이 시가 실제로 묘사하는 것은 천국으로 가는 길이며, 우리를 천국으로 인도하려는 주님의 강렬한 열망이기 때문입니다.

첫 번째 단계는 주님을 우리의 목자로 모시고 그분의 가르침과 리더십을 받아들이는 것입니다. 푸른 초원과 잔잔한 물은 그분이 여정에서 우리에게 가르치실 것들을 상징합니다. 그런 다음 주님은 우리 안에서 일하기 시작하여 우리의 영적인 삶을 질서 있게 정돈하여 우리가 선한 일을 행하고 서로 사랑하기를 원하도록 하십니다. 그것은 우리의 영혼을 회복시키고 우리를 의의 길로 인도하는 것으로 표현됩니다.

그러나 우리는 여전히 도전에 직면할 것입니다. 우리는 여전히 세상 밖에서 외적인 삶을 살고 있으며, 그 외적인 삶, 육체적인 삶에서 일어나는 욕망의 지배를 받습니다. 그것이 바로 사망의 음침한 골짜기입니다. 그러나 지팡이와 지팡이는 외적, 내적 차원에서 주님이 주시는 진리, 즉 그러한 욕망으로부터 우리를 보호할 수 있는 사상을 상징합니다.

우리가 계속 따를 때 주님은 우리 안에 사랑(기름부음)과 지혜(넘치도록 잔)로 채울 수 있는 식탁을 준비해 주실 것입니다. 이렇게 변화된 우리는 다른 사람에 대한 사랑("선")과 주님의 사랑("자비")으로 천국에 들어갈 수 있으며, 영원히 사랑하고 사랑받을 수 있습니다.

이것의 많은 아름다운 점 중 하나는 모든 일을 실제로 행하시는 분이 주님이라는 사실입니다. 본문 전체에서 양들이 취한 유일한 행동은 사망의 음침한 골짜기로 걸어가는 것뿐입니다. 그 외에는 주님을 따르고, 주님을 신뢰하고, 주님의 축복을 받아들입니다. 그리고 그것은 정말 사실입니다! 외적인 상태(골짜기)에서는 우리가 스스로 일을 하는 것처럼 보일 수 있지만, 내적으로는 영적으로 우리 자신을 주님께 드리고 주님께서 우리를 축복하시도록 내버려두면 됩니다.

여기서 근본적인 생각은 주님께서 우리를 사랑하시도록 우리를 창조하셨고, 우리를 사랑하시면서 우리가 행복하기를 원하시며, 우리의 가장 큰 행복은 천국에서 그분과 결합하는 것에서 비롯된다는 것을 알고 계시며, 그분 자신도 우리와 결합하는 것 이상을 원하지 않으신다는 것입니다. 그래서 그분께서 지구상의 모든 사람을 위해 매일 매 순간 행하시는 모든 일은 그 사람을 천국에 데려가려는 목표에 집중되어 있습니다. 그분은 우리가 상상할 수 있는 것 이상으로 우리 한 사람 한 사람이 천국에 가기를 원하십니다. 우리는 협력하기만 하면 됩니다.

(참조: Apocalypse Explained 375 [34], 727 [2]; The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms 273)

9548. 'And you shall make a lampstand' means the spiritual heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'a lampstand' as the Divine Spiritual from the Lord in heaven and in the Church. The reason why 'a lampstand' means the Divine Spiritual is that 'the table' on which the loaves of the Presence were laid means the Divine Celestial, as has been shown in what has gone before. The Divine Celestial is the good of love, and the Divine Spiritual the truth of faith derived from that good; and both of these emanate from the Lord, 9227. The lampstand is the Divine Spiritual on account of the light it sheds; for Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord's Divine Good is what shines in heaven. There is no other source from which angels receive light. This is why in the Word the Lord is called the Light, and why 'light' means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone, see 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4060, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4414, 4415, 4419, 4527, 4598, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6315, 6608, 6907, 7174, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407.

[2] 'A lampstand' means the spiritual heaven by virtue of Divine Truth which is present there from the Lord, and therefore also means the Church; and 'a lamp' means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone. This is clear from places in the Word where 'lampstand' and 'lamp' are mentioned, as in John,

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man. The seven lampstands are the seven Churches. Revelation 1:12-13, 20.

And in the same book,

I will remove your lampstand from its place if you do not repent. Revelation 2:5.

A Church is called 'a lampstand' in these places by virtue of Divine Truth which is present there from the Lord. The fact that 'a lampstand' means a Church is self-evident, for it says, 'The seven lampstands are the seven Churches'. The fact that a Church is called such on account of Divine Truth is evident from the statement, 'I will remove your lampstand if you do not repent'. And the fact that this Truth comes from the Lord [is also self-evident], for it says, 'In the midst of the lampstands one like the Son of Man'; and the Lord is called the Son of Man by virtue of His Divine Truth, see 2803, 2813, 3704.

[3] In the same book,

I will grant My two witnesses to prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. Revelation 11:3-10.

'The two witnesses' are the Word in both Testaments, in that they bear witness to the Lord. It is called 'an olive tree' by virtue of the Divine Good and 'a lampstand' by virtue of the Divine Truth which come from the Lord.

[4] In Zechariah, when the angel who was speaking said to the prophet,

What do you see? I said to him, I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold; its bowl is on top of it, ¹ and its seven lamps are on it with seven pipes to the lamps. Two olive trees are beside it, one on the right of the bowl and one on the left of it. Zechariah 4:2-3.

This refers to Zerubbabel, who was about to lay a foundation for God's house and bring it to completion. He represents the Lord, in that He was about to come and to re-establish the spiritual heaven and the Church, these being what is meant by 'a lampstand', and the holy truths there what is meant by 'seven lamps'.

[5] The fact that 'a lamp' means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone, is clear in John,

The holy Jerusalem has no need of the sun or of the moon to shed light in it. The glory of God will give it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations that are saved will walk in His light. Revelation 21:23-24.

And further on,

There will be no night there, nor do they need a lamp or light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. Revelation 22:5.

'Lamp' in the first quotation stands for Divine Truth that comes from the Lord, and 'light' for faith, and so also for intelligence and wisdom. In the same book,

The light of a lamp will not shine in you any more, and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will not be heard in you any more. Revelation 18:23.

[6] And in Jeremiah,

I will take away the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of mills, and the light of the lamp, that the whole land may be a desolation and devastation. Jeremiah 25:10-11.

This refers to the elimination of faith and consequently of intelligence in spiritual matters meant here by the lamp which will no longer be there and by 'the light of the lamp' which will be taken away.

[7] The like occurs in Job,

How often is the lamp of the wicked put out and [how often] does destruction come upon them? Job 21:17.

In David,

You light my lamp; Jehovah my God makes my darkness bright. Psalms 18:28; 2 Samuel 22:29.

In the same author,

By Your commands I have been made intelligent. Your Word is a lamp to my foot, and a light to my path. Psalms 119:104-105.

In Job,

When God causes a lamp to shine over my head I would walk in darkness towards His light. Job 29:3.

In Matthew,

The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:22-23; Luke 8:16; 11:33-36.

'The eye' is used here to mean faith and consequent intelligence - the fact that these are meant in the internal sense by 'the eye', see 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051. And from this the meaning of the words, 'If your eye is good your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness' is self-evident. Since faith and consequent intelligence and wisdom is meant by 'a lamp' the kings of Judah are called lamps to David, 1 Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19; and David himself is called the lamp of Israel, 2 Samuel 21:16-17. Not that the kings of Judah were lamps; nor was David. Rather they were called such because 'a king' means Divine Truth that comes from the Lord, 6148, and 'David' the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, the source of faith, intelligence, and wisdom, 1888.

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