386. Internal Meaning of Psalm 136

1-3 Let them confess the Lord, who alone is God and Lord,6 (16)

4-6 who, by means of the Divine truth, has formed heaven and the church, (12)

7-9 from whom is all truth of doctrine, and good of love, and knowledge (cognitio) of these; (12)

10-22 who delivers the natural man from falsities of evil, and there establishes the church, and dissipates evils of every kind. (11, 12, 17)

23-26 Celebration and confession of Him who delivers from falsities and evils, and grants truths and goods,6, (16, 12)

1-26 and this from pure mercy. (12)

The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings -- Conjugial Love -- is devoted to the subject. So we can hardly offer a full explanation here. In a very general sense, though, the Writings say that men are creatures of intellect, driven by the love of growing wise; women, meanwhile are creations of affection, driven by the love of wisdom and the good that wisdom can do. They are formed this way to reflect the Lord's Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and so that they can form marriages that reflect the unity of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. Marking differences between men and women can be a touchy thing, but realistically it's easy to see that men tend to love acquiring knowledge whether it has any practical application or not. Many of them can spout out sports statistics or hold court on the workings of the internal combustion engine, even though it is knowledge they are not likely to ever use. They find such knowledge interesting for its own sake. It follows, then, that when the Bible speaks of men, the men represent facts, ideas, knowledge, truth, intellect and wisdom -- or in the negative sense falsity, twisted logic, and reasoning that is devoid of concern for others.