8478. 'Let no one leave any of it until the morning' means that they must not be anxious to acquire it of themselves. This is clear from the fact that the manna was given every morning and that worms bred in what was left over, meaning that the Lord provides people's requirements every day and that for this reason they ought not to be anxious to acquire them of themselves. The same thing is meant by daily bread in the Lord's Prayer and also by the Lord's words in Matthew,

Do not be anxious for your soul, what you are going to eat or what you are going to drink, nor for your body, what you are going to put on. Why be anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not toil, nor do they spin. Do not therefore be anxious, so that you say, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For all these things the gentiles seek. Does not your heavenly Father know that you have need of all these things? Seek first the kingdom of God ¹ and its righteousness, then all these things will be added to you. Do not therefore be anxious about the morrow; for the morrow will take care of the things that belong to it. Matthew 6:25-end.

Similar words occur in Luke 12:11-12, 22-31.

[2] The present verse and the one that follows refer in the internal sense to concern for the morrow, a concern which was not only forbidden but also condemned. The forbiddance of it is meant by their being told not to leave any of the manna till the morning, and the condemnation of it is meant by worms breeding in any they did leave and its becoming putrid. Anyone who does not view the matter from anywhere beyond the sense of the letter may think that all concern for the morrow is to be avoided, which being so, people should then await their requirements every day from heaven. But a person who views it from a position deeper than the literal meaning, that is, who views it from the internal sense, may recognize what concern for the morrow is used to mean - not concern to obtain food and clothing for oneself, and also resources for the future; for it is not contrary to order to make provision for oneself and one's dependents. But people are concerned about the morrow when they are not content with their lot, do not trust in God but in themselves, and have solely worldly and earthly things in view, not heavenly ones. These people are ruled completely by anxiety over the future, and by the desire to possess all things and exercise control over all other people. That desire is kindled and grows greater and greater, till at length it is beyond all measure. They grieve if they do not realize the objects of their desires, and they are distressed at the loss of them. Nor can they find consolation, for in times of loss they are angry with the Divine. They reject Him together with all belief, and curse themselves. This is what those concerned for the morrow are like.

[3] Those who trust in the Divine are altogether different. Though concerned about the morrow, yet are they unconcerned, in that they are not anxious, let alone worried, when they give thought to the morrow. They remain even-tempered whether or not they realize desires, and they do not grieve over loss; they are content with their lot. If they become wealthy they do not become infatuated with wealth; if they are promoted to important positions they do not consider themselves worthier than others. If they become poor they are not made miserable either; if lowly in status they do not feel downcast. They know that for those who trust in the Divine all things are moving towards an everlasting state of happiness, and that no matter what happens at any time to them, it contributes to that state.

[4] It should be recognized that Divine providence is overall, that is, it is present within the smallest details of all, and that people in the stream of providence are being carried along constantly towards happier things, whatever appearance the means may present. Those in the stream of providence are people who trust in the Divine and ascribe everything to Him. But those not in the stream of providence are people who trust in themselves alone and attribute everything to themselves; theirs is a contrary outlook, for they take providence away from the Divine and claim it as their own. It should be recognized also that to the extent that anyone is in the stream of providence he is in a state of peace; and to the extent that anyone is in a state of peace by virtue of the good of faith, he is in Divine providence. These alone know and believe that the Lord's Divine providence resides within every single thing, indeed within the smallest details of all, as has also been shown in 1919 (end), 4329, 5122 (end), 5894 (end), 6058, 6481-6486, 6490, 7004, 7007, as well as that Divine providence has what is eternal in view, 6491.

[5] Those with the contrary outlook are scarcely willing to allow any mention of providence. Instead they put every single thing down to prudence; and what they do not put down to prudence they put down to fortune or to chance. Some put it down to fate, which they do not ascribe to the Divine but to natural forces. They call those people simple who do not attribute all things to themselves or to natural forces. From all this one may again see what those people are like who are concerned for the morrow, and what those are like who are not concerned for the morrow.

Footnotes:

6482. I have spoken to spirits about the Lord's exercise of government in an overall manner, saying that what is overall can never exist without specific aspects, and that but for these the overall is nothing; for the reason why the expression 'overall' is used is that this is what the specific aspects considered all together are called, just as particular parts taken all together are referred to as the general whole. To speak therefore of Providence acting in an overall manner but not in specific ways amounts to saying nothing at all. If anyone takes Providence acting in an overall manner to mean the general preservation of the whole natural world in line with the order stamped on it when it was first created, he does not take into account the consideration that nothing can remain in being unless it is constantly being brought into being; for as is well known in the learned world, remaining in being is a constant coming into being, and preservation is accordingly constant creation. Consequently Providence is present all the time in specific situations. Some people find confirmation of the idea that what is overall can exist without specific aspects in the role of a king, who exercises overall control of his kingdom but does not take charge of the details. But these people give no thought to the idea that royal power rests not only with the king himself but also with his ministers who, acting on his behalf, discharge the kinds of duties which he himself cannot possibly attend to. Thus the overall rule of the king exists within specific acts of government. But with the Lord there is no need of anything like this; for whatever exists in Him is infinite because it is Divine. Angels do serve as His ministers, so that they may have an active life, and from this derive happiness; nevertheless the duties they perform as His ministers are not initiated by themselves but by influx from the Lord, as the angels also confess with one accord.

9682. 'And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark of the Testimony in the holy of holies' means the hearing and reception of all things which in the inmost heaven belong to worship arising from the good of love from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'the mercy-seat' as the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship arising from the good of love, dealt with in 9506; from the meaning of 'the ark of the Testimony' as the inmost heaven where the Lord is, dealt with in 9485, 'the Testimony' there being the Lord, 9503; and from the meaning of 'the holy of holies' as the place where the good of love from the Lord dwells, dealt with above in 9680. From all these meanings it is evident that 'you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark of the Testimony in the holy of holies' means the hearing and reception of all things which in the inmost heaven belong to worship arising from the good of love from the Lord.

[2] The nature of the Lord's presence in the inmost heaven, and the nature of His presence in the middle heaven, and also in the lowest, may be recognized from what has been shown in many places regarding the inflow of goodness and truth from the Lord. The Lord becomes present by flowing in, but this inflow is conditioned by what people's life of goodness and truth is like. Those governed by the good of love to the Lord are the ones to receive that inflow the most immediately. Those however who are governed by the good of charity towards the neighbour receive it as well, yet more remotely, because the good of charity towards the neighbour is more remote than the actual good of love to the Lord. As for those who are governed by the good of faith, they too indeed receive it, but according to the amount of good there is within that faith. Consequently people who lead a good life based on the truths of faith receive it; for the Lord resides within their good, since all good springs from Him and none whatever from man, nor from the angels in heaven.

[3] To pursue this matter further, that the Lord is present in heaven and with mankind through heaven, it should be remembered that the Lord is above the heavens, since He is the actual Sun of heaven; yet He is nevertheless present in heaven through the light and heat from that Sun. The light from it is the Divine Truth which is the light of faith, while the heat from it is the Divine Good which is the heat of love; what emanates from the Lord is the Lord Himself. From these considerations it is evident that the Lord is present where good received from Him dwells. But a better understanding of all this may be gained from what has been shown regarding influx, that is to say, where it has been shown that the all of life, thus all good and truth since these constitute life in a person, flows in from the Lord, and that the things which flow in are conditioned by the manner in which each person receives them, 2536, 2706, 2886-2889, 2893, 3001, 3318, 3484, 3742, 3743, 4151, 5846, 5850, 5986, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7147, 7270, 7343, 8321, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 9110, 9111, 9216, and where it has been shown that influx from the Lord comes both directly from Him and also indirectly through the heavens, 5147, 6058, 6063, 6466, 6472, 6473, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7007, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7270, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 9216.