10495. 'So that He may bestow a blessing on you today' means the reception of Divine Truth from the Word, and being joined thereby to the Lord. This is clear from the general meaning of 'a blessing' as that which the Lord imparts to a person; and since all that the Lord imparts has connection with the good of love and the truth of faith, these and all that springs from them are what is meant by 'a blessing'. So here the reception of Divine Truth from the Word is meant, and being joined thereby to the Lord, see 1096, 2846, 3017, 3406, 4216, 4981, 6298, 8674, 8939. As regards the meaning of 'a blessing' as being joined to the Lord, see 3504, 3514, 3530, 3565, 3584, 6091, 6099. The implications of all this have been shown in what has gone before; and regarding the Word, that it is the means by which the Lord is joined to mankind, and heaven is joined to the world, see 10452.

1096. That 'blessed be Jehovah, [God] of Shem' means every good imparted to those who worship the Lord from things that are internal becomes clear from the meaning of 'blessed'. Blessing entails every good - celestial and spiritual, and natural as well. All these are meant in the internal sense by blessing, while in the external sense it means all worldly, bodily, and earthly good. But if the latter are to be a blessing, it is vital that they derive from internal blessing, for this alone is real blessing since it is eternal and is joined with all happiness. It is the Essential Being (Esse) of all blessings. For what has Being apart from that which is eternal? Everything else that has being is non-eternal. In early times it was customary to say 'Blessed be Jehovah', by which people meant that every blessing, that is, all good, flows from Him. It was also a way of expressing thanks for the Lord's blessing or having blessed them, as in David, Psalms 28:6; 71:21; 41:13; 66:20; 68:19, 35; 72:18-19; 89:52; 119:12; 124:6; 135:21; 144:1, and in other places besides these.

[2] The expression 'blessed be Jehovah God' is used because Shem, or the internal Church, is the subject. That Church is called an internal Church by virtue of charity. It is in charity that the Lord is present, Who is therefore called 'Jehovah God' here. But He is not called this in the external Church, for although the Lord is present there, that presence is not the same as with the member of the internal Church. The member of the external Church still believes that he himself is the source of the good deeds of charity which he performs. Consequently when the subject is the member of the external Church the Lord is called God, as He is in the next verse in reference to Japheth - 'God enlarge Japheth'. That every good imparted to those who worship the Lord from things that are internal is meant becomes clear also from the order of things. The order is this: From the Lord comes everything celestial, from the celestial comes everything spiritual, from the spiritual comes everything natural. Such is the order by which all things are brought into being, and therefore is the order belonging to influx.

[3] That which is celestial is love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. Where there is no love, the chain is broken and the Lord not present For He flows in solely by way of that which is celestial, that is, by way of love. When that which is celestial does not exist, that which is spiritual cannot either, for everything spiritual comes from the Lord by way of the celestial. That which is spiritual is faith. Consequently faith does not exist unless it comes from the Lord by way of charity or love. And the same applies to the natural. It is according to this same order that all goods flow in. From this it follows that every good is imparted to those who worship the Lord from things that are internal, that is, from charity. But to those who do not do so from charity no good is imparted, but only an imitation of good which is in itself evil, as the delight accompanying hatred and adultery, which regarded in itself is an absolutely foul delight, into which it is also converted in the next life.