9373. Come up unto Jehovah. That this signifies conjunction with the Lord, is evident from the signification of “coming up,” as being to be raised toward interior things (see n. 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007), consequently also to be conjoined (n. 8760). That it denotes conjunction with the Lord, is because by “Jehovah” in the Word is meant the the Lord, (n. 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315). A secret which also lies hidden in the internal sense of these words, is that the sons of Jacob, over whom Moses was the head, were not called and chosen; but they themselves insisted that Divine worship should be instituted among them (according to wh at has been said in n. 4290, 4293); and therefore it is here said, “and He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah,” as if not Jehovah, but another, had said that he should come up. For the same reason in what follows it is said that “the people should not go up” (verse 2); and that “Jehovah sent not His hand unto the sons of Israel who were set apart” (verse 11); and that “the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the sons of Israel” (verse 17); and lastly that Moses, being called the seventh day, “entered into the midst of the cloud.” For by “the cloud” is meant the Word in the letter (n. 5922, 6343, 6752, 6832, 8106, 8443, 8781); and with the sons of Jacob the Word was separated from its internal sense, because they were in external worship without internal, as can be clearly seen from the fact that now, as before, they said, “all the words which Jehovah hath spoken we will do” (verse 3); and yet scarcely forty days afterward they worshiped a golden calf instead of Jehovah; which shows that this was hidden in their hearts while they were saying with their lips that they would serve Jehovah alone. But nevertheless those who are meant by “the called and the chosen” are those who are in internal worship, and who from internal worship are in external; that is, those who are in love to and faith in the Lord, and from this in love toward the neighbor.

45. 17.

The vastation of good and truth and thence their change into evil and falsity in the church are treated of as described in Isaiah 59:1-16; and it is said that vastation and breaking are in their paths (verse 7). Afterwards in the same chapter the coming of the Lord and the redemption are treated of from verses 16-21, where it is also said, Jehovah saw that there was no man, He wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation unto Him, and His justice upheld Him. And He put on justice as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head: He also put on garments of vengeance, and covered Himself with zeal as with a cloak; anger to His enemies, retribution to His adversaries. So shall they fear the name of Jehovah from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun. Although he shall come as a rushing stream, the spirit of Jehovah shall bring in an ensign against him; then the Redeemer shall come to Zion. This is My covenant with them, saith Jehovah, My spirit that is upon thee, and My words, which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, from henceforth and for ever (verses 16-21). In the following chapter (60) the church of the Lord is treated of, after the judgment upon the evil, thus after the act of redemption, concerning which we read as follows: Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. For, behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but Jehovah shall rise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about and see: they all gather together and come to thee. All from Sheba shall come, they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah. Thy gates also shall open continually, they shall not be shut day nor night; to bring to thee the host of the nations. For the nation or kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish. Thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breasts of kings, that thou mayest know that I Jehovah am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Powerful One of Jacob. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, vastation nor breaking within thy borders, but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall no more be for a light by day, nor shall the moon shine for brightness unto thee, but Jehovah shall be for the light of eternity, and thy God, thy adornment (Isaiah 60:1-22). Concerning the New Church of the Lord.

665. That to “set up a covenant” signifies that he would be regenerated, is very evident from the fact that there can be no covenant between the Lord and man other than conjunction by love and faith, and therefore a “covenant” signifies conjunction. For it is the heavenly marriage that is the veriest covenant; and the heavenly marriage, or conjunction, does not exist except with those who are being regenerated; so that in the widest sense regeneration itself is signified by a “covenant.” The Lord enters into a covenant with man when He regenerates him; and therefore among the ancients a covenant represented nothing else. Nothing can be gathered from the sense of the letter but that the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and so many times with their descendants, was concerned with them personally, whereas they were such that they could not be regenerated; for they made worship consist in external things, and supposed the externals of worship to be holy, without internal things being adjoined to them. And therefore the covenants made with them were only representatives of regeneration. It was the same with their rites, and with Abraham himself, and with Isaac, and Jacob, who represented the things of love and faith. Likewise the high priests and priests, whatever their character, even those that were wicked, could represent the heavenly and most holy priesthood. In representatives the person is not regarded, but the thing that is represented. Thus all the kings of Israel and of Judah, even the worst, represented the royalty of the Lord; and even Pharaoh too, who set Joseph over the land of Egypt. From these and many other considerations-concerning which, of the Lord’s Divine mercy hereafter-it is evident that the covenants so often entered into with the sons of Jacob were only religious rites that were representative.