872. 'The face ¹ of the ground' means those things that reside with the member of the Church, and the expression 'the ground' is used because it is the first stage at which man comes to be the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'the ground', dealt with already, as the member of the Church who is at that point called 'the ground' when the goods and truths of faith can be sown within him. Previously he is called 'the land', as in Genesis 1 where 'the land' refers to man prior to his becoming celestial, while Chapter 2, when he has become celestial, refers to him as 'the ground' and 'the field'. It is similar in the present chapter. The expression 'the land' and the expression 'the ground' are sufficient by themselves to enable someone to recognize what is meant in the internal sense, not only here but also anywhere else in the Word. 'The ground' in the universal sense means the Church, and as the Church is meant so too is the member of the Church for, as stated already, every member of the Church is the Church.

Footnotes:

9260. 'You shall not turn aside the judgement of your needy one in his dispute' means not destroying the small amount of truth with those lacking in knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'turning aside' as perverting and so destroying; from the meaning of 'the judgement' as that which is upright and true, dealt with in 2235, 2335, 5068, 6397, 7206, 8685, 8695, 8972; from the meaning of 'needy one' as those who have only a small amount of truth owing to lack of knowledge and still have a desire to receive instruction, dealt with in 9209; and from the meaning of 'dispute' or 'quarrel' as contention, dealt with in 5963, 9024. 'In his dispute' here means in his cause involving the small amount of truth which he contends for.