2904. The lives of Sarah were. That this signifies the times and states of the church as to the truths Divine that preceded, is evident from the signification here of “lives;” and from the representation of “Sarah.” “Lives,” here, because they regard age and its periods, namely, infancy, youth, adult age, and old age, signify states, as do all times in general (see n. 2625, 2788, 2837); and because the following verses treat of the church, therefore “lives” signify the times and states of the church. That “Sarah” is truth Divine, may be seen above (n. 1468, 1901, 2063, 2172, 2173, 2198, 2507); from which it follows that by “the lives of Sarah were,” in the internal sense are here signified the times and states of the church as to the truths Divine which preceded.

[2] That Sarah, while alive as Abraham’s wife, represented the Lord’s Divine Truth conjoined with His Divine Good, may be seen from the places above cited; and because the Lord’s Divine Truth was represented by her, so also the truth Divine of the church is signified; for in the church there is no other truth than that which is the Lord’s. Truth which is not from Him is not truth; as is also evident from the Word and from the doctrine of faith derived from it. It is evident from the Word, in John:

A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven (John 3:27).

Without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

And the same is evident from the doctrine of faith, in that the all of faith, that is, all truth, is from the Lord.

[3] All and each of the representatives and significatives in the Word, in the highest sense regard the Lord; hence is the very life of the Word; and as they regard the Lord, they regard His kingdom also, for the Lord is the all in His kingdom; the Divine things which are from the Lord in His kingdom make the kingdom. Therefore insofar as an angel, spirit, or man receives good and truth from the Lord, and believes that it is from the Lord, so far he is in His kingdom; but insofar as he does not receive and does not believe that it is from the Lord, so far he is not in His kingdom. Thus the Divine things that are from the Lord make His kingdom, or heaven; and this is what is meant by the Lord being the all in His kingdom.

2033. Thou shalt keep My covenant. That this signifies still closer union, is evident from the signification of a “covenant,” as being union and conjunction (treated of before, at verses 2, 4, and 7; also in Part First, n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038). The repeated mention here of “covenant,” so frequently mentioned before, denotes a closer union. In the historical sense, which relates to Abraham, nothing else can be said than that he is to keep the covenant; but in the internal sense, in which the Lord is treated of, what is historical vanishes, and the things that can be predicated of Him succeed in its place, which relate to a closer union. The unition of the Lord’s Human Essence with His Divine Essence was not effected all at once, but through the whole course of His life, from infancy to the last of His life in the world. Thus He ascended continuously to glorification, that is, to union; according to what is said in John:

Jesus said, Father glorify Thy name; there came a voice from heaven: I have both glorified and will glorify it again (John 12:28).

(See what was said above, n. 1690, 1864)