The Bible

 

Isaiah 58:10-11

Study

      

10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

      

Commentary

 

Explanation of Isaiah 58

By Rev. John H. Smithson

THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 58

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation.)

1. CRY aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare unto My people their transgressions; and to the house of Jacob their sins.

VERSE 1. Divine Truth itself in heaven is signified by "voices" and "lightnings", but celestial or angelic Truth adjoined to the Divine, which is beneath or around, is signified by the "voice of a trumpet", as in Zechariah:

"Jehovah shall appear over them, and His weapon shall go forth as lightning; and the Lord Jehovih shall sound with a trumpet, and shall advance in the storms of the south." (Zechariah 9:14)

And in David:

"God ascends with noise; Jehovah with the voice of a trumpet"; (Psalm 47:5) where "noise" denotes the Truth of spiritual Good, and the "voice of a trumpet" the Truth of celestial Good. Arcana Coelestia 8815. See also the Exposition of Isaiah 27:13.

Declare unto My people their transgressions, etc. - As to the difference in meaning between "transgressions", "iniquities", and " sins", see Chapter 1:28, the Exposition.

2. Yet they seek Me daily, and the knowledge of My ways they desire, as a nation that has done justice, and has not forsaken the judgment of their God, that they might inquire of Me the judgments of justice; they delight in approaching to God.

Verse 2. That they might inquire of Me the judgments of justice, etc. - The "judgments of justice" denote divine Truths from Divine Good. Apocalypse Explained 946. See also Arcana Coelestia 612; True Christian Religion 51; Heaven and Hell 216.

3. [Saying] Wherefore have we fasted, and You seest not? have we afflicted our soul, and You dost not regard? Behold, in the day of your fasting, you find your pleasure; and all your demands you exact.

Verse 3. By "fasting" is signified to mourn by reason of a defect of Truth and of Good. Apocalypse Explained 1189.

4. Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: do not fast as in this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

Verse 4. To "smite with the fist of wickedness", signifies to smite with full power by falsities from evil. By the "fist" is signified, full power from Truth in general. It is called general [or common] Truth, because it is generally received, and is everywhere of avail or power; hence to "smite with the fist" is with full force and power, in the spiritual sense, by Truths which are from Good; and, in the opposite sense, by falsities which are from evil, - in which sense it is understood in the above passage in Isaiah. Arcana Coelestia 9025.

5. Is this, then, the fast which I choose? a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it that he should bow down his head like a bulrush, and lie down in sackcloth and ashes? Wilt you call this a fast, a day well-pleasing to Jehovah?

6. Is not this the fast which I choose, to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the bruised go free, and that you break off every yoke?

Verse 5. Wilt you call this a fast, a day well-pleasing to Jehovah? - That by "good pleasure", or what is "well-pleasing" to Jehovah, when predicated concerning men, is signified to live according to His precepts, - which is to love God and our neighbour, is evident, for it is said that His "good pleasure", or what is "well-pleasing " to Him, is "to break bread to the hungry, and to cover the naked."

By "breaking bread to the hungry", is signified from a principle of love to do Good to our neighbour, who is in the desire of Good; and by "covering the naked", is signified to instruct in Truths him who desires to be instructed. Apocalypse Explained 295.

Verses 5-7. Whereas to "put on sackcloth"· and to "roll in ashes" represented mourning over evils and falsities, it also represented humiliation, and likewise repentance; for the first principle of humiliation on man's part is to acknowledge that, of himself, he is nothing but what is evil and false; and, in like manner, of repentance, which is not effected but by humiliation, and this by confession of the heart that, of himself, he is such. That to "put on sackcloth" was a representation of humiliation, see 1 Kings 21:27-29; that it was a representative of repentance, see Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13; out that it was nothing else but a representative, thus only an external thing appertaining to the body, and not an internal thing appertaining to the heart, is evident from Isaiah:

"Is it that he should bow down his head like a bulrush, and lie down in sackcloth and ashes? Wilt you call this a fast, a day well-pleasing to Jehovah? Is not this the fast which I choose? - to loose the bonds of wickedness, to break bread to the hungry?" etc. Arcana Coelestia 4779.

7. Is it not to break your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the afflicted outcasts into your house? when you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from thine own flesh?

Verse 7. By "breaking bread to the hungry", is signified from charity to communicate and instruct those who are in ignorance, and, at the same time, in the desire of knowing Truths. To "bring the afflicted outcasts into the house"; signifies to amend and restore those who are in falsities, and thence in grief; "afflicted outcasts" denoting those who are in grief from falsities, for they who are in falsities stand without, whereas they who are in Truths are of the house, because the "house" is the intellectual mind, into which Truths only are admitted; for it is opened by Truths originating in Good. On account of which signification it is also added, "When you see the naked, that you cover him"; to be "naked" denoting to be without Truths, and to "cover the naked" is to instruct; for "garments", in the Word, signify Truths clothing, as may be seen above, Apocalypse Explained 295. Apocalypse Explained 386.

Those who press the literal sense of these words [as the only sense], believe that if they only break their bread to the hungry, and bring into their house the afflicted and wandering outcasts, and cover the naked, they shall, on that account, come into "the glory of Jehovah, or into heaven; whereas those deeds are only external, and can be done by the impious that they may merit heaven; but by the "hungry", the "afflicted", and the "naked", are signified those who are spiritually such, thus the different states of misery in which the man is who is the neighbour towards whom charity should be practised. Arcana Coelestia 3419.

8. Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and your justice shall go before you; the glory of Jehovah shall gather up your rear.

9. Then shalt you call, and Jehovah shall answer; you shalt cry out, and He shall say, Behold Me! If you remove from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and the speaking of iniquity;

Verse 8. The glory of Jehovah shall gather up your rear. - What is meant by these words, see above, Chapter 52:12, the Exposition.

10. And if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness shall be as the noon-day;

Verse 10. To "draw [or press] out the soul to the hungry", and to "satisfy the afflicted soul", signifies to teach him who desires to know what is Good and True; by the "hungry is signified one who desires Good, and by the "afflicted" he who desires Truth; and by "drawing out the soul" is signified to teach those things, thus to draw them forth from the understanding, from doctrine, and from faith; for by "soul", in this passage, is denoted the life of the understanding. That those who are in ignorance, but still in the desire of receiving Truth, will receive the understanding of Truth and of Good, is signified by "then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness shall be as the noon-day"; "obscurity" and "darkness" denoting the ignorance of Truth and of Good, and " light" and "noon-day" are the understanding of them. Apocalypse Explained 750.

In these words is described the exercise of charity towards the neighbour; in this case, towards those who are in ignorance, and, at the same time, In the desire of knowing Truths, and in grief on account of the falsities which occupy the mind; and that with those who are in that charity, falsities shall be shaken off, and Truths give light and shine.

Charity towards those who are in ignorance, and, at the same time, in the desire of knowing Truths, is understood by "If you draw out your soul to the hungry"; the "hungry" denoting those who desire; "soul" denoting the intelligence of Truth instructing.

That it is thus to instruct those who are in grief on account of the falsities which occupy the mind, is signified by "If you satisfy the afflicted soul."

That with those who are in such charity, ignorance shall be dissipated, and Truths shine and give light, is understood by "your light shall rise in obscurity, and your darkness shall be as the noon-day"; "obscurity" signifies the ignorance of the spiritual mind, and "darkness" the ignorance of the natural mind; "light" signifies Truth in the light, in like manner "noon-day."

In such illustration are they who from charity or spiritual affection instruct those who are in falsities from ignorance; for that charity is the receptacle of the influx of light or Truth from the Lord. Apocalypse Explained 386.

11. And Jehovah shall lead you continually, and shall satisfy your soul in parched places; and He shall strengthen your bones: and you shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters deceive not.

Verse 11. He shall strengthen [or quicken] your bones; and you shalt be like a watered garden, etc. - By "bone" and "flesh" is signifIed the proprium of man, - by "bone" his intellectual proprium, and by "flesh " his will proprium, thus by "bone" his proprium as to Truth, for this is of his intellectual principle, and by "flesh" his proprium as to Good, for this is of his will, as may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 148, 149. As to what concerns the proprium in general, it is two-fold, the one infernal, the other celestial; man receives infernal proprium from hell, and celestial proprium from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord; for all evil, and every false principle thence derived, flows in from hell, and all Good, and Truth thence derived, flows in from the Lord.

That this is the case, is known to man from the doctrine of faith, but scarcely one in ten thousand believes it; hence it is that man appropriates to himself, or makes his own, the evil which flows in from hell, and that the Good which flows in from the Lord, does not affect him, consequently is not imputed to him.

The reason why man does not believe that evil flows in from hell, and Good from the Lord, is, because he is in self-love, which love is attended with this principle of unbelief, insomuch that it is exceedingly indignant when it hears it asserted that everything is the effect of influx; hence, then, it is, that all man's proprium. is nothing but evil, see Arcana Coelestia 210, 215. But the ground why man believes that evil is from hell, and Good from the Lord, is, because he is not in self-love, but in love towards his neighbour and towards the Lord, for this love is ever attended with this principle of belief; hence it is that man receives from the Lord a heavenly proprium, concerning which, see Arcana Coelestia 155, 164. This proprium, in each sense, is signified by "bone" and "flesh"; and this is the groundl and reason why by "bones", in the Word, is signified Truth, and, in an opposite sense, the false principle; and by "flesh" is signified Good, and, in an opposite sense, evil. That such is the signification of "bones", may appear from the following passages:

"Jehovah shall lead you continually, and shall satisfy your soul in parched places; and He shall strengthen [or quicken] your bones: and you. shalt be like a watered garden"; (Isaiah 58:11) where "strengthening [or quickening] the bones" denotes to vivify the intellectual proprium; that is, to illustrate it with intelligence; whence it is said that "you may be as a watered garden"; that "garden" denotes intelligence, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 100, 108, 1588.

Again, in the same Prophet:

"Then you shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall bud forth like the herb"; (Isaiah 66:14) where, by "bones budding forth like the herb", the same is signified as above. Arcana Coelestia 3812.

12. And they that spring from you shall build up the old waste places; you shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shalt be called the Repairer of the breach, the Restorer of paths to dwell in.

Verse 12. These words treat of the church in which charity and life are the essential. To "repair the breach", is to amend falsities which have crept in by the separation of what is Good from what is True, for everything false comes from this separation: to "restore paths to dwell in", signifies Truths which are of Good, for "paths" or "ways" are Truths, and to "dwell" is predicated of Good. Arcana Coelestia 4926.

13. If you turn your foot away from the Sabbath, from doing thine own pleasure on the day of My holiness; and shalt call the Sabbath a Delight to the Holy [One] of Jehovah, honourable; and shalt honour it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

Verse 13. To "turn away the foot from the Sabbath", denotes such things as are of the natural man; to "do his own pleasure [or will]", is to do those things which favour the lusts and evils of the loves of self and of the world; to "do his own ways, is to favour the falsities of evils; to "find his own pleasure", is to live according to the delights of those loves; and to "speak his own words", denotes to think such things. Hence it is evident that by "profaning the Sabbath" is signified to be led of themselves and of their own loves, and not of the Lord, who, in the supreme sense, is the "Sabbath."

Similar things are signified by "works" on the Sabbath day, as by "cutting wood", and "kindling a fire", and "preparing food" at that time, "gathering in the harvest", and by several other things which were forbidden to be done on the Sabbath day; by which also like things are understood, - by "cutting wood", the operating of good from themselves; by "kindling a fire", the doing of it from their own loves; and by "preparing food", teaching themselves from their own proper intelligence.

That such things are involved in the above prohibitions, no one can know but from the internal sense. It is further to be noted, that to be led of self and to be led of the Lord are two opposites; for he who is led by himself is led by his own loves, thus by hell, because the proper loves of man are from that source; but he who is led by the Lord is led by the loves of heaven which are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour; he who is led by those loves is withdrawn from his own proper loves, and he who is led by his own proper loves is withdrawn from the loves of heaven, for they in no wise agree together; for the life of man is either in heaven or in hell, nor is it permitted to be at the same time in one and in the other.

This is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew:

"No one can serve two lords; for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will adhere to the one and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24)

From these considerations it is evident what is signified by "doing work on the Sabbath day." When man is thus led by the Lord, and conjoined to Him, then the church and heaven are in him, which is signified by his being made to "ride upon the high places of the earth", and by his being" fed with the heritage of Jacob." Arcana Coelestia 10362; also 10360.

In the natural sense, which is that of the letter, the divine commandment to "remember the Sabbath day, and to keep it holy", signifies that six days are for man and his labours, and the seventh for the Lord and for man's rest in dependence on Him; for the word "Sabbath", in the original tongue, signifies rest.

The "Sabbath" among the children of Israel was the sanctity of sanctities, because it represented the Lord; the "six days" being significative of His labours and combats with the hells, and the "seventh" of His victory over them, and of the rest which He thereby attained; and because that "day" represented the close and period of the whole work of redemption accomplished by the Lord, it was esteemed holiness itself.

But when the Lord came into the world, and, in consequence, made all representations of Himself to cease, that day was then made a day for instruction in divine subjects, and thus also a day of rest from labours, and of meditation on matters that concern salvation and eternal life; and also a day for the exercise of love towards our neighbour. That it was made a day for instruction in divine subjects, is evident from this circumstance, that the Lord, on that day, "taught in the temple and in the synagogues"; (Mark 6:2; Luke 4:16, 31, 32; 13:10) and that He said to the man who was healed - "Take up your bed, and walk"; and to the Pharisees, that "it was lawful for His disciples on the Sabbath day to gather the ears of corn, and to eat"; [Matthew 12:1-9; Mark 2:23, to the end; Luke 6:1-6; John 5:9-19) which particulars signify, in the spiritual sense, to be instructed in doctrinals.

That that day was also made a day for the exercise of love towards our neighbour, is evident from what the Lord both "did and taught on the Sabbath day." (Matthew 12:10-13; Mark 3:1-5; Luke 6:6-12; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 5:9-19; 7:22, 23; 9:14-16)

From these and the foregoing passages it appears why the Lord said that "He is Lord also of the Sabbath"; (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5) and from His making this declaration, it follows that the "Sabbath day" was representative of Him. True Christian Religion 301.

14. Then shalt you delight yourself in Jehovah; and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob- your father: for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.

Verse 14. By "causing to ride upon the high places of the earth", is signified to give the understanding of superior or interior Truths concerning the things of the church and of heaven; and by "feeding with the heritage of Jacob", is signified to gift with all things of heaven and the church; for by the "heritage of Jacob" is understood the land of Canaan, and by that "land" is meant the church, and, in a superior sense, heaven. Apocalypse Explained 617.

That a "horse" signifies the understanding, and to "ride." means to be intelligent, see Chapter 31:1, the Exposition.

---

Isaiah Chapter 58.

1. CRY aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare unto My people their transgressions; and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2. Yet they seek Me daily, and the knowledge of My ways they desire, as a nation that has done justice, and has not forsaken the judgment of their God, that they might inquire of Me the judgments of justice; they delight in approaching to God.

3. [Saying] Wherefore have we fasted, and You see not? have we afflicted our soul, and You dost not regard? Behold, in the day of your fasting, you find your pleasure; and all your demands you exact.

4. Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: do not fast as in this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

5. Is this, then, the fast which I choose? a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it that he should bow down his head like a bulrush, and lie down in sackcloth and ashes? Wilt you call this a fast, a day well-pleasing to Jehovah?

6. Is not this the fast which I choose, to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the bruised go free, and that you break off every yoke?

7. Is it not to break your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the afflicted outcasts into your house? when you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from thine own flesh?

8. Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and your justice shall go before you; the glory of Jehovah shall gather up your rear.

9. Then shalt you call, and Jehovah shall answer; you shalt cry out, and He shall say, Behold Me! If you remove from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and the speaking of iniquity;

10. And if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness shall be as the noon-day;

11. And Jehovah shall lead you continually, and shall satisfy your soul in parched places; and He shall strengthen your bones: and you shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters deceive not.

12. And they that spring from you shall build up the old waste places; you shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shalt be called the Repairer of the breach, the Restorer of paths to dwell in.

13. If you turn your foot away from the Sabbath, from doing thine own pleasure on the day of My holiness; and shalt call the Sabbath a Delight to the Holy [One] of Jehovah, honourable; and shalt honour it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

14. Then shalt you delight yourself in Jehovah; and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob- your father: for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #295

Study this Passage

  
/ 1232  
  

295. And by Thy will they are, and they were created, signifies that through Divine good they have being, and through Divine truth they have existence. This is evident from the signification of "will," as being, in reference to the Lord, the Divine love; also from the signification of "are" [sunt] or "being" [esse], as the good of love, here the Divine good of the Divine love received (of which presently), also from the signification of "they were created," or "being created," as being Divine truth also received, thus those reformed by it. "To be created" signifies to have existence, because only those who have been reformed are said to have existence; for in them is life, and they have intelligence and wisdom; while those who are not reformed have no life in them, but spiritual death, neither have they intelligence and wisdom, but insanity and folly, therefore they are not said to have existence. Everything indeed, that appears to any of the senses is said to have existence, but this cannot be said of man spiritually unless he is in good and truth; for man is created that he may be living, intelligent, and wise; consequently when he is dead, insane, and foolish, to that extent he does not exist as a man. There are two things that cause man to be a man, namely, good and truth, both from the Lord; good is the esse of his life, but truth is the existere of life therefrom; for all truth has existence from good, since it is the form and therefore the quality of good; and since good is the esse of life, and truth is the existere of life therefrom, and "to be created" signifies to have existence, it is said, "by Thy will they are, and they were created." This, then, is the spiritual in these words.

[2] "Will" in reference to the Lord means Divine love; because the Divine Itself, from which are all things, is the Divine love. The Lord, therefore, appears before the angels as a Sun, fiery and flaming, and this for the reason that in the spiritual world love appears as fire, consequently in reference to the Lord, heaven, and the church, "fire" in the Word signifies love. From that sun in the heavens heat and light proceed; and heat there is Divine good proceeding, and light is Divine truth proceeding. (This is more fully shown in the work on Heaven and Hell, On the Sun of Heaven, n. 116-125; and On Heat and Light in Heaven, n 126-140) And since the Divine Itself from which are all things is the Divine love, so "will" in reference to the Lord is Divine love, for what love itself wills, that is the good of love; the truth which is said to be of faith is merely a means that good may have existence, and that truth may afterwards exist from good. Will and understanding with man are from this origin, the will is the receptacle of the good of love with man, and the understanding is the receptacle of the truth of faith with him. The understanding is the medium by which the will may be reformed, and by which afterwards the will may appear in form, such as it is by means of the understanding. From this it is clear that the will is the esse of man's life, and the understanding is the existere of life therefrom. (But this is also more fully shown in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, where the Will and Understanding are treated of, n 28-35.)

[3] Because man's will is his love, and God's will is the Divine love, it can be seen what is meant in the spiritual sense by "doing the will of God" and "the will of the Father," namely, that it is to love God above all things, and the neighbor as oneself. And as to love is to will, so it is also to do; for what a man loves, that he wills, and what he wills he also does. Therefore "doing the will of God" or "of the Father" means doing His commandments, or living according to them from the affection of love or charity. This is what is meant by "the will of God" and "of the Father" in the following passages. In John:

God heareth not sinners; but if anyone worship God and do His will, him He heareth (John 9:31).

In Matthew (that the one who does the will of the Father who is in the heavens shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens):

Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but He that doeth the will of My Father that is in the heavens (Matthew 7:21).

In the same:

Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven so upon the earth (Matthew 6:10).

In the same:

It is not the will of the Father that one of these little ones should perish (Matthew 18:14).

"It is not His will that one of these little ones should perish" means evidently love. It is said "the will of the Father," because "Father" means Divine good. In John:

If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you may ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you (John 15:7).

Whatsoever they will and ask shall be done for those who abide in the Lord and in whom His words abide, because they then will nothing except what the Lord gives them to will, and that is good, and good is from Him.

[4] The Lord's will in the Old Testament is called His "good pleasure," and this likewise means the Divine love; and to do His good pleasure or His will signifies to love God and the neighbor, thus to live according to the commandments of the Lord, since this is to love God and the neighbor, and this comes down from the Lord's love. For no one can love the Lord and the neighbor except from the Lord; for this is the veriest good for man, and all good is from the Lord. That "good pleasure" has this signification is clear from the following passages. In Isaiah:

In My wrath I smote thee, but in My good pleasure have I had mercy on thee (Isaiah 60:10).

"To smite in anger" signifies temptation; "in good pleasure to have mercy" signifies deliverance from love; "to have mercy" is to do good to the needy from love.

[5] In David:

My prayer is unto thee, O Jehovah, in the time of good pleasure; O God, for the greatness of Thy mercy answer me, in the truth of Thy salvation (Psalms 69:13).

"The time of Jehovah's good pleasure" signifies acceptance from love; "time," when said of men, signifies the existing state, but in reference to Jehovah, perpetual existing, thus His love, because this is perpetual. Hearing and help from love through the proceeding Divine which is the Divine truth, is signified by "for the greatness of Thy mercy answer me, in the truth of Thy salvation. "

[6] In Isaiah:

Jehovah said, In the time of My good pleasure have I answered thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee (Isaiah 49:8).

Here also "the time of good pleasure," that is, of will, signifies the Divine love; and "to answer" signifies to bring aid, and to benefit.

[7] In the same:

To proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure, to comfort all that mourn (Isaiah 61:2).

This is said of the coming of the Lord; and "the year of Jehovah's good pleasure" signifies the time and state of the men of the church, when from love they are to be succored, therefore it is also said, "to comfort all that mourn. "

[8] In David:

Thou dost bless the righteous; Thou wilt compass him with Thy good pleasure as with a shield (Psalms 5:12).

Here "good pleasure" stands plainly for the Divine love, from which the Lord protects everyone; protection by the Lord from love is signified by "Thou wilt compass him as with a shield."

[9] In the same:

Jehovah openeth the hand and satisfieth every living thing with His good pleasure (Psalms 145:16);

"to open the hand" signifies to gift with good; and "to satisfy every living thing with good pleasure" signifies from love to enrich with Divine truth all who receive life from Him.

[10] In Moses:

Of the precious things of the earth and the fullness thereof and the good pleasure of Him that dwelleth in the thorn-bush, let them come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of the Nazarite of his brethren. O Naphtali, satisfied with the good pleasure and the blessings of Jehovah (Deuteronomy 33:16, 23).

"Joseph" in the highest sense signifies the Lord in respect to the spiritual Divine; in the internal sense the spiritual kingdom; and in the external, salvation, the fructification of good, and the multiplication of truth (See Arcana Coelestia 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417). This makes clear what is signified by Joseph's having "of the precious things of the earth and the fullness thereof, and the good pleasure of Him that dwelleth in the thorn-bush;" "the precious things of the earth" are spiritual goods and truths therefrom belonging to the church; "the earth" is the church; the "good pleasure of Him that dwelleth in the thorn-bush" is the Lord's Divine love of truth; the "thorn-bush" in which the Lord appeared to Moses signifies that Divine love; "the head of Joseph" signifies the wisdom of the internal man; and "the crown of the head of the Nazarite of his brethren" signifies the intelligence and knowledge [scientia] of the external man; "Naphtali" (named from wrestlings) signifies temptations and after them consolation and blessing from the Divine love, which is meant by "satisfied with the good pleasure and the blessing of Jehovah."

[11] In Isaiah:

Wilt thou call this a fast, and the day of Jehovah's good pleasure? Is it not to break thy bread to the hungry; and when thou seest the naked that thou cover him? (Isaiah 58:5, 7).

That "Jehovah's good pleasure," in reference to men, signifies to live according to His commandments, which is to love God and the neighbor (as was said above) is evident; for it is said that "His good pleasure is to break the bread to the hungry, and to cover the naked;" "to break bread to the hungry" signifies from love to do good to the neighbor who desires good; and "to cover the naked" signifies to instruct in truths him who desires to be instructed.

[12] In David:

I delight in doing Thy good pleasure (that is, Thy will) O my God; and Thy law is in my bowels (Psalms 40:8).

In the same:

Teach me to do Thy good pleasure; Thy good spirit shall lead me into the land of uprightness (Psalms 143:10).

In the same:

Bless ye Jehovah, all His hosts; ye ministers of His that do His good pleasure (Psalms 103:21).

To "do the good pleasure of Jehovah God" signifies to live according to His commandments; this is His good pleasure or His will, because from Divine love He wills that all should be saved, and by it they are saved. Moreover, in the Hebrew expression "good pleasure" also means will; for whatever is done according to the will is well pleasing, and the Divine love wills nothing else than that love from itself may be with angels and men, and His love is with them when they love to live according to His commandments. That this is to love the Lord He teaches in John 14:15, 21, 23, 24; 15:10, 14; 21:15-17).

[13] That "will" signifies love in a contrary sense, namely, the love of evil and the love of falsity, is evident in John:

As many as received Jesus, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, to them that believe in His name; who were born, not of bloods nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but from God (John 1:12, 13).

"To believe in the Lord's name" signifies to live according to the commandments of His teaching; that "the Lord's name" signifies all things by which He is worshiped, thus all things of love and faith, see above (n. 102, 135). "Not of bloods" signifies not in a life contrary to good and truth; "not of the will of the flesh" signifies not in a love of evil; "not of the will of man" [vir] signifies not in the love of falsity. (That "flesh," in reference to man, means the voluntary that is man's own [proprium voluntarium], thus evil, see Arcana Coelestia 148, 149, 780, 999, 3813, 8409, 10283; and that man [vir] means the intellectual that is man's own [proprium intellectuale], which is falsity, see n. 4823.)

  
/ 1232  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.