"And as they drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that belong to your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.'" (Luke 19:41,42 ).

"'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.... For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?" ( Luke 23:28,31).

Jesus wept over Jerusalem. The women wept over Him, and He told them to weep for themselves and for their children. Grief at a moment of triumph, grief at a moment of desolation.

There is irony in the Palm Sunday story, for over its rejoicing hangs the shadow of the betrayal, trial and crucifixion. Was the angry crowd that called for His crucifixion the same multitude that hailed Him as King five days earlier? Why did the Lord ride in triumph, knowing the things that would surely come to pass? He did so to announce that He, the Divine truth from the Divine good, would rule all things; to give us a picture which will stand for all time of His majesty. And then the events of Gethsemane and Calvary let us know the nature of that majesty - that indeed His kingdom is not of this world.

Can we picture the scene on Palm Sunday? The multitudes were rejoicing and shouting, and then they saw their King weeping. This was not a brief moment, but a sustained weeping, which caused the writer of the gospel to hear of it. Did their shouting die down as they watched His grief, did they wonder when He pronounced doom upon the city they lived in? "Your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children with you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not know the time of your visitation." Then, perhaps, as He rode on, the cheering resumed, and the strange words were forgotten.

There is yet another irony; for the people shouted that peace had come. "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Yet when Jesus wept, He said to the city, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes."

This grand panorama speaks of the world inside each human being. It is in our minds, in the spiritual sense of the Word, that Jesus rides in triumph. When we see the wonder of His truth, sense its power over all things, we crown Him. All the events of Palm Sunday tell of those times when we acknowledge that the Lord, the visible God, rules our minds through the Word which is within us. It is a time of great rejoicing. Like the multitudes of Palm Sunday, we feel that this vision will sweep all that is evil away, and the Lord will easily reign within us as our King and our God.

Such happy times do come to us, and we can rejoice in them, and hail our Lord and King with jubilation. "Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!" Peace comes through conjunction with the Lord whom we have seen (Apocalypse Explained 369:9, 11). Yet the Lord Himself knows that there are battles to come from those who know no peace. This too He warns us of in His Word. In the natural Jerusalem of the Lord's day the rulers had used falsity to destroy the truth, and they brought much grief upon the Christians. In the spiritual Jerusalem in our minds there are false values which would destroy peace. Before we get to heaven there is going to be a battle between our vision of the Lord and our self love which will abuse the truth to make that happen.

So the Lord wept, out there on the mount of Olives, as He looked down upon the city. His weeping was a sign of mercy, for He grieves over the states in us which will hurt us and which are opposed to our peace. (Arcana Coelestia 5480; Apocalypse Explained 365 [9]; cf. 365:11, 340). Yet His grief is an active force, it is mercy, working to eliminate those states. Jesus promised that Jerusalem would be utterly destroyed - not a single stone left standing. It is true that the natural Jerusalem was razed to the ground, but this is not what He meant. He promises us - even as He warns us of the battles to come - that He will triumph, and that our Jerusalem - our excuses for doing evil - will not stand. They will be decimated by His Word. (Cf. Arcana Coelestia 6588 [5]; Apocalypse Explained 365 [9]).

He wept from mercy, and He promised an end to weeping, for "His tender mercies are over all His works."

On Good Friday there was surely cause for weeping. Picture this scene: The women were following the cross, lamenting. Jesus must have been bleeding from the whipping, and scarred by the crown of thorns. He was surrounded by people who enjoyed seeing someone die. Those who called Him their enemy were satisfied that they had won.

His followers were desolate. Never had they imagined that the dream He had fostered would end this way, or the Leader they loved would be treated so terribly. They felt for Him in what they were sure was His suffering. They wept for Him.

Then perhaps the crowds that insulted Him were stilled as He turned to the mourners. Out of His infinite love He spoke. "'Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.'" He did not think of His approaching agony, He grieved for those He loved. He would triumph. It was upon them that suffering would come. What clearer picture can we have of the goal which brought our God to earth than that sentence? He came because evil people and evil feelings bring misery to His children. He came to give them joy after their weeping, to give them consolation and hope, and finally to give them the certainty that there should be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying.

The women of that time did indeed face physical sorrow. It is heartbreaking to learn of the persecutions of the Christians, to think of people killed because they worship their God; of children being taken from them, of good people subject to the mercy of those who know no mercy. Indeed it must have seemed that the Lord was right in saying that it would have been better had they never borne children who would suffer so for their faith. "For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!'"

But the real reason the Lord came down to earth was that within physical cruelty there is a far greater hurt. There are plenty of people walking this earth who wouldn't think of murdering someone else, but who regularly enjoy taking away something far more precious - his ability to follow his Lord.

That was why the Lord spoke those words, "Weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." The daughters of Jerusalem represent the gentle love of truth with sincere people all over the world. Their children are the charity and faith which comes from the love of truth. These are the casualties of evil, especially when it infests a church. These are the things that cause internal weeping, a sorrow of the spirit that is the more devastating because it is silent.

"Daughters of Jerusalem," He called them. Our innocent love of the truth grows up together with our justification for being selfish. In fact, it is ruled by self justification, as the daughters of Jerusalem were ruled by a corrupt church. When those women tried to break loose from the Jewish Church they were persecuted. When our innocent love of the truth seeks to lead us to follow the Lord we suffer temptations in our spirits. The hells rise up and tempt us with all the selfish and evil delights we have ever had, and we indeed weep for ourselves.

You see, it is not the truth itself that suffers! "Weep not for Me," Jesus said. The truth is all powerful. It is our love for that truth which is tempted. It is our charity and our faith - the children of that love - which suffer.

"For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts which never nursed.'" Doesn't it seem to us at times that the people who have no truths, who have no ideals, are the ones that are happy? In fact this is a prophecy that those who are outside of the Church and find it afresh will have an easier time than those who bring the falsities of life into the battle.

On Palm Sunday, when Jesus wept, He said that Jerusalem would be destroyed. As I have said, He was actually promising the destruction of evil in us. On Good Friday He gave the same assurance: "Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"' These apparently harsh words are ones of comfort, for they promise that as the Lord's truth triumphs in us, heaven will draw nearer. When that happens the hells who tempt us will be unable to bear the presence of heaven, and will cover themselves over and hide.

"For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?" The listeners knew what that meant: if when He was among them they rejected His truth, what will they do when the memory of His presence and His miracles have dried up? In the internal sense the green wood is truth that is still alive from a love for it. Even when we see the ideals of the Word, we are going to struggle with temptation. But when that wood dries out, when we can't sense the life and power of truth, the battle becomes very much harder.

In both these images - His weeping on Palm Sunday, His sad warning to the women to weep for themselves and for their children, the Lord is preparing us to fight for what we believe. How does He prepare us? By assuring us, not only of the trials to come, but of the certainty of victory now that He has revealed His might. There is such wonder, such hope for eternal happiness in the true Christian religion. Yet no worthwhile love will ever be ours to keep until it has faced its challenges. There must be a time of weeping: our merciful Lord weeping over our struggles and giving us strength from mercy; our dreams and hopes weeping when we fear they are lost. Through the trial we express our commitment to our dreams, and He delivers us.

Less than twenty four hours before His arrest the Lord spoke again about weeping. At the Last Supper He said, "Most truly I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice." But He did not stop there. "And you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you."

When He was crucified and rose again, they must have thought that now His words were fulfilled. Now they had found the joy which no one could take from them. Perhaps when they suffered at the hands of persecutors and found joy among fellow-Christians they thought the same. And finally, when they had fought their private battles, and from His power overcome the enemy within, they knew what He really meant.

"Jesus wept over the city." "Weep for yourselves and for your children." Our love of the truth will be threatened and with it our hope for true faith and true charity. It was to that end that He came into the world and rode in triumph and drank of the cup of rejection and apparent death - to be able to turn our sorrow into joy. Therefore He could also say, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Amen.

(References: Luke 19:29-44, 23:24-38)

60. Now follow some things concerning the Coming of the Lord collected from the prophecies of the Old Word; namely:

Jehovah God said, Lo, I come; in the roll of the Book it is written of Me (Psalm 40:7).

Jehovah God said to the serpent,... Be thou cursed;... I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; and He shall trample thy head, but thou shalt injure the heel (Gen. 3:14-15).

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come: to Him shall the cleaving of the peoples be (Gen. 49:10)- the prophecy of the father, Israel, concerning his sons.

A Star shall rise out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise up out of Israel (Num. 24:17).

Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet out of the midst of thy brethren, like unto Me; Him ye shall obey,... and I will put My words in His mouth;... whence it shall come to pass, that the man who will not obey His words, I will require it of him (Deut. 18:15-19).

The Lord Himself giveth you a sign, Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name, God with us (Isa. 7:14).

Unto us a Boy is born, unto us a Son is given, on whose shoulder shall be the government; His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace: of the increase of His government... there shall be no end (Isa. 9:6-7).

There shall come forth a shoot out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch out of his root shall bear fruit;... upon Him shall rest the spirit of wisdom and intelligence, the spirit of counsel and might (Isa. 11:1-2).

In that day the nations shall seek the Root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, and His rest shall be glory (Isa. 11:10).

Send ye the lamb of the Ruler of the land, from the rock toward the wilderness:... His throne is established in mercy, and one shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hastening justice (Isa. 16:1, 5).

It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God for whom we have waited that He may deliver us; this is Jehovah for whom we have waited: we will exult and rejoice in His salvation (Isa. 25:9; 26:8-9).

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make plain in the desert a path for our God.... The glory of Jehovah shall be revealed; and all flesh shall see it together (Isa. 40:3, 5).

O Zion, thou evangelizer, get thee up upon the high mountain; O Jerusalem,... thou that evangelizest, lift up thy voice with strength; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God. Behold, the Lord Jehovih cometh in strength, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold His reward is with Him.... He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs in His arm, and carry them in His bosom; He shall gently lead the sucklings (Isa. 40:9-11).

My people shall know My name in that day; for I am He that doth speak; Behold Me. How delightful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that evangelizeth, that causeth them to hear peace, that evangelizeth good, that causeth them to hear salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy King reigneth.... They shall lift up the voice and sing; they shall see eye to eye that Jehovah is returned to Zion. He hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem:... all the ends of the land shall see the salvation of our God (Isa. 52:6-10).

Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; His reward is with Him, and the recompense of His work before Him (Isa. 62:11).

Shout for joy and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; behold, I come, that I may dwell in the midst of thee;... then many nations shall cleave to Jehovah (Zech. 2:10-11).

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh to thee, just (Zech. 9:9).

Behold, the days come... when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, who shall reign a King and prosper, and He shall execute judgment and justice in the land;... and this is His name,... Jehovah our Righteousness (Jer. 33:5-6; 23:15-16).

Behold, I send My angel, who shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, and the Angel of the covenant whom ye desire, behold, He shall come (Mal. 3:1).

Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, it is little that thou art among the thousands of Judah; out of thee shall One go forth unto Me, who will be Ruler in Israel, and whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity.... He shall stand and feed the flock in the strength of Jehovah,... and shall increase even to the ends of the land (Micah 5:2, 4).

I anoint My king upon Zion.... I will proclaim concerning the statute, Jehovah saith unto Me, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee; ask of Me, and I will give the nations for Thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Thy possession.

Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way; . . . Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him (Psalm 2:6-12).

Behold, the God of my salvation! I will trust and not be afraid. . . . Cry out and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee (Isa. 12:2, 6).

In that day a man shall look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have regard to the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 17:7).

My Beloved had a vineyard in a horn of [the son of] oil (Isa. 5:1). Jehovah Zebaoth, Him shall ye sanctify.... He shall be for a sanctuary, although for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence,... and for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitant of Jerusalem (Isa. 8:13-14; Matt. 21:42-44; Luke 20:17-18).

The people that walked in darkness shall see a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them shall the light shine (Isa. 9:2).

Out of Zion... God shall shine forth; our God shall come, and shall not keep silence (Psalm 1 2, 3).

The vision is yet for the appointed time, and speaketh out to the end; yet it shall not lie: though He tarry, wait for Him; because He will surely come, He will not delay (Hab. 2:3).

O Jehovah, I have heard Thy fame; I have revered, O Jehovah, Thy work,... make it present in the midst of the years. . . . God shall come from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. His brightness shall be as the light; rays [coming forth] from His hand; and there is the hiding of His strength (Hab. 3:2-3, 4).

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I will lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-[stone] of well-established foundation;... then I will set judgment to the rule, and righteousness to the plummet (Isa. 28:16-17).

The Lord, appearing above the mercy-seat (Ezek. 1:26-28), is described as to the Word, and is called "Lord Jehovih" (Ezek. 2:4; 3:11, 27; 4:14; 5:7, 11; 6:3, 11; 7:2, 5; 8:1). In Isaiah liii, throughout, the Lord is treated of, and the state of His life in the world is described by the following expressions:

That He had no form nor comeliness; He was despised and not esteemed; He was wounded on account of our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; Jehovah caused the iniquities of us all to meet in Him; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter; He was cut off out of the land of the living; because He placed their guilt on His soul His days should be prolonged; also, for them He poured out His soul even unto death; He was numbered with the transgressors, and interceded for the transgressors (Isa. 53:1-12).

I have called Him forth in righteousness.... He shall build My city; and He shall send away My captivity, not for price nor for reward.... Verily, Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel the Saviour (Isa. 45:13, 15).

I have caused My righteousness to draw near,... and My Salvation shall not tarry (Isa. 46:13).

As for our Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth is His Name, and the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 47:4).

O Jehovah, our Lord, how excellent is Thy Name in all the earth! giving to it honour above the heavens.... Thou hast caused Him to lack little compared with the angels, but Thou hast crowned Him with glory and honour; Thou hast made Him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands, Thou hast put all things under His feet (Psalm 8:1, 5-6, 9).

God... shall come down like rain among the herb.... He shall have dominion also from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. The barbarians shall bow themselves before him, and his enemies shall lick the dust; the kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall bring their present; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer their gift; all kings shall bow themselves to him, all nations shall serve him; for he shall deliver the wretched, who hath no helper.... He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence:... His name shall be to eternity; he shall have the name of a son ¹ before the sun, and men shall be blessed in him.

Blessed be God, the God of Israel:... blessed be the name of his glory... the whole earth shall be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen (Psalm 72:6, 8, 10, 12, 18-19).

I have made a covenant with My chosen.... Thy seed will I establish even to eternity, and I will build up Thy throne from generation to generation;... and the heavens shall confess Thy wonders (Psalm 89:3-4, 5).

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