3121. And His truth from my lord. That this signifies an influx of charity therefrom, is evident from the signification of “truth,” as being charity. “Truth” in its proper sense signifies the same as “faith,” and in the Hebrew language faith is expressed by a like word; so that what is called “truth” in the Word of the Old Testament is in various places called “faith” in the Word of the New Testament; and for this reason also it has been so often said in the foregoing pages that truth is of faith and good is of love. And yet that in the internal sense faith is nothing else than charity, may be seen from what has been said and shown above in many places-as that there is no faith except by love (n. 30-38): That no faith is possible except where there is charity (n. 654, 724, 1162, 1176, 2261): That faith is the faith of charity (n. 1608, 2049, 2116, 2343, 2349, 2419): That charity makes the church, not faith separate from charity (n. 809, 916, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844, 2190, 2228, 2442). From all this it is evident that in the internal sense truth or faith is the same as charity; for all faith is from charity; the faith which is not from charity not being faith; or what is the same, in the internal sense all truth is good; for all truth is from good, and the truth which is not from good is not truth, truth being nothing else than the form of good (n. 3049); its birth is from no other source, and its life is from no other.

1176. Cush begat Nimrod. That this signifies that they who had knowledges of interior things instituted such worship, is evident from what has just been said. Knowledges of interior things are what they call doctrinals, which they also distinguish from rituals. For example, their chief doctrinal is that faith alone saves; but they do not know that love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor are faith itself; and that the knowledges which they call faith exist for no other end than that by means of them men may receive from the Lord love to Him and love toward the neighbor; and that this is the faith which saves. It is those who make faith consist in knowledges alone, who beget and institute such worship as is spoken of above.