Psalms 115
1
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.
2
Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
3
But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
4
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
5
They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
6
They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
7
They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
8
They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
9
O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
10
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
11
Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
12
The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
13
He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
14
The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
15
Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
16
The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
17
The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
18
But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.
Canons of the New Church #45
45. CHAPTER VIII 1 . THE CONFIRMING OF A TRINITY OF PERSONS, EACH OF WHOM IS A GOD FROM ETERNITY, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NICENE AND ATHANASIAN CREEDS, HAS FALSIFIED THE WHOLE WORD
1. Every heretic is able to confirm his heresy, and does confirm it, by the Word, this having been written by means of appearances and correspondences. On this account the Word is said by some to be "the book of all the heresies".
2. A man, after confirming his dogmas, sees no otherwise than that they are true, even when they are false.
3. It is possible to confirm a plurality of Gods by many things from the Word; also to confirm a faith that is imputative of Christ's merit, in which faith three Gods have each their separate part; and, further, that works of charity contribute nothing towards faith, and so nothing towards salvation.
4. A plurality of Gods can be confirmed from the following:
Trinity is mentioned by the Lord.
Trinity made its appearance when the Lord was baptized.
There are "three who bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit". [1 John 5:7.]
Jehovah God said, "Let us make man in our image and likeness". [Gen. 1:26.]
Before Abraham three angels, who are called Jehovah, made their appearance. [Gen. 17:2-3.]
In the New Word, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are mentioned many times by the Lord in the Gospels, and by the Apostles in the Epistles, and this without its being said that they are One.
Then, too, it can be confirmed that there is a faith by which there is imputation of Christ's merit, and that this faith is the only saving faith; also that the works of charity do not conduce to salvation. Let it be added that any reasoning mind can augment the above with contributions of its own, and strengthen them.
5. Not a single one of these can be seen to be false and so be dispelled, unless reason, enlightened by the Lord through the Word, confirm that God is One and that there is a conjunction of charity and faith.
6. When this is done, it is obvious that the theology based upon a Trinity of Persons, each one of whom is God, and upon a faith made applicable to each of them separately, and upon the worthlessness of charity for salvation, has falsified the whole Word; for the reason, chiefly, that these three, God, charity, and faith, are the universals of religion to which every single thing in the Word, and every single thing of heaven and the Church therefrom, has reference.
7. The result, with him who has confirmed this enormity, is that, wherever he reads of the Father, or of the Son, or of the Holy Spirit, indeed wherever he reads of Jehovah and God, he thinks of three Gods because he is thinking of one out of the three; further, wherever he reads of faith, he thinks of no other faith than of one by which there is imputation of Christ's merit; and wherever he reads of charity, he thinks of it as not contributing anything towards salvation, or else he thinks of that faith in its stead. Confirmation once impressed carries this with it.
Footnotes:
1. In the Skara Manuscript, this chapter is numbered VI and the following chapters accordingly in sequence, no notice being taken of the missing pages.
