5134. 'And bring me out of this house' means a release from evils. This is clear from the meaning of 'bringing out' as a release, and from the meaning of 'house' as good, dealt with in 710, 1708, 2048, 2233, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4982, and therefore, in the contrary sense, as evil. From this it is evident that 'bring me out of this house' means a release from evils, a meaning that also follows the preceding train of thought, which is this: When faith is received within the exterior natural, which is the subject here, 5130, a correspondence is effected, 5131, and when charity is received, 5132, and a communication is thereby effected with the interior natural, 5133, the exterior natural is at that point released from the evils which had caused the celestial represented by 'Joseph', 5086, 5087, 5106, to become alienated - that alienation being meant by the words which follow next, stating that he was taken away by theft. Furthermore, when the natural is regenerated by means of charity and faith it is released from evils; for when it is regenerated the evils are set apart and cast away from the centre, where they were previously, to the fringes, which the light of truth from good does not reach. In man's case evils are set apart in this manner; yet they still remain, for they cannot be completely destroyed. But with the Lord, who made the natural within Himself Divine, evils and falsities were cast out and completely destroyed. For the Divine cannot have anything at all in common with evils and falsities, or be encompassed by them, as is the case with man; for the Divine is the Essential Being (Esse) of good and truth, and that Being exists an infinite distance away from everything evil and false.

5132. 'And show, I beg you, mercy to me' means the reception of charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'mercy' as love, dealt with in 3063, 3073, 3120, 5042, in this case love towards the neighbour, which is charity, since the reception of faith is spoken of above in 5130; for on the level of the senses, when these are born again, faith and charity must make one. The reason 'mercy' means charity is that all who have charity have mercy, that is, all who love their neighbour are merciful towards him. This also explains why the Word describes the practice of charity as acts of mercy, as in Matthew,

I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to me. Matthew 25:35-36.

And in other places the practice of charity is described as acts of mercy done to the poor, the afflicted, widows, and orphans.

[2] Charity consists essentially in desiring the welfare of one's neighbour, in having an affection for what is good, and in acknowledging that since what is good is one's neighbour, those who are governed by good are consequently one's neighbour, but varyingly so, depending on the amount of good that governs the individual person. Therefore since charity consists in having an affection for what is good, it also consists in feelings of mercy for those in distress. The good of charity holds such feelings within it because it comes down from the Lord's love towards the whole human race, a love which is 'mercy' because the whole human race is in distress. Mercy sometimes seems to exist among the evil who have no charity. But this is a case of pain because of their own suffering; for it consists in a concern for friends whom they identify with themselves, and when those friends suffer, they suffer too. This kind of mercy is not the mercy that belongs to charity but that which goes with friendship based on self-interest, which regarded in itself is the opposite of mercy. That kind of person despises and hates everyone else apart from himself, and so everyone else apart from the friends whom he identifies with himself.