1. Angelic Wisdom about Divine Providence

Divine Providence Is the Form of Government Exercised by the Lord's Divine Love and Wisdom

To understand what divine providence is--that it is the way the Lord's divine love and wisdom govern us--it is important to be aware of the following things, which were presented in my book on the subject.

In the Lord, divine love is a property of divine wisdom and divine wisdom is a property of divine love (Divine Love and Wisdom 34-39).

Divine love and wisdom cannot fail to be and to be manifested in others that it has created (Divine Love and Wisdom 47-51).

Everything in the universe was created by divine love and wisdom (Divine Love and Wisdom 52, 53, 151-156).

Everything in the created universe is a vessel of divine love and wisdom (54-60 [55-60]).

The Lord looks like the sun to angels; its radiating warmth is love and its radiating light is wisdom (Divine Love and Wisdom 83-88, 89-92, 93-98, 296-301).

The divine love and wisdom that emanate from the Lord constitute a single whole (Divine Love and Wisdom 99-102).

The Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, created the universe and everything in it from himself and not from nothing (Divine Love and Wisdom 282-284, 290-295). These propositions may be found in the work titled Angelic Wisdom about Divine Love and Wisdom.

92. It has not been known before that angels and spirits are in a completely different light and warmth than we are. It has not even been known that there was a different light and warmth. Human thought has not penetrated beyond the deeper or purer aspects of nature. As a result, many people have located the dwellings of angels and spirits in the ether or even in the stars--within nature, that is, and not above or beyond it. In fact, though, angels and spirits are wholly above or beyond nature. They are in their own world, one that is under a different sun. Further, since spatial intervals are only apparent in that world, as I have explained earlier [7], we cannot say that they are in the ether or in the stars. They are right with us, united to our own spirits in feeling and thought. Each of us is a spirit. That is the source of our thinking and intending. This means that the spiritual world is right where we are, not distanced from us in the least. In short, as far as the deeper levels of our minds are concerned we are all in that world, surrounded by angels and spirits there. We think because of the light of that world and love because of its warmth.

34. Divine love is a property of Divine wisdom, and Divine wisdom is a property of Divine love. The Divine being and Divine expression in the human God are in a distinct combination one (see nos. 14-16 above); and because the Divine being is Divine love, and the Divine expression is Divine wisdom, therefore these, too, are in a distinct combination one.

We say that they are in a distinct combination one because love and wisdom are two distinct attributes, but so united that love is a property of wisdom and wisdom a property of love. For love has its being in wisdom, and wisdom has its expression in love.

Moreover, because wisdom takes its expression from love (as said in no. 15 above), therefore Divine wisdom also is being; and it follows from this that love and wisdom taken together are the Divine being, whereas in considering them in distinction from each other we call love the Divine being, and wisdom the Divine expression.

Such is the angelic idea of Divine love and wisdom.