3063. 'And deal mercifully' means an influx of love. This is clear from the consideration that the essence of mercy is love. Love itself is converted into mercy and becomes mercy when anyone in need of help is regarded with love or charity. Consequently mercy is the expression of love towards those who are needy and wretched. But here in the internal sense 'mercy' is used to mean love and 'dealing mercifully' an influx of love, since it was an influx from the Lord's Divine itself into His Divine Human. In fact it was by means of Divine love that is the Lord's that He made His Human Divine, for love is the very being (esse) of life, while Divine love exists in none but the Lord. See what has been stated already about the Lord's love in the following places:

The Lord's life was a love towards the whole human race, 2253, and from that love He did battle, 1690, 1789, 1812, 1813, 1820.

It surpasses all understanding, 1799, 2077.

The Lord is Divine love itself, 2077, 2500, 2572.

Jehovah is love, 1735.

Nothing apart from love has life, 1589.

Anyone who possesses mutual love possesses the Lord's life, 1799, 1802, 1803.

Love and charity are the celestial itself, 1419, 1824.

1824. That 'a heifer' means those things that are the representatives of exterior celestial things, 'a she-goat' those that are the representatives of interior celestial, and 'a ram' those that are the representatives of spiritual-celestial, becomes clear from the sacrifices, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with later on when sacrifices are the subject. There are exterior celestial things and interior celestial things, as well as spiritual-celestial. Exterior celestial things are such as belong to the external man, interior celestial such as belong to the internal man, while spiritual-celestial are such as derive from both exterior and interior celestial things. The celestial itself consists in love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. That celestial flows in from the Lord, and indeed by way of the internal man into the external. In the interior man it is called the interior celestial, in the exterior the exterior celestial. The exterior celestial consists of every affection for good, and also indeed every pleasure which springs from the affection for good. Insofar as these two, that is, the affection for good and the pleasure springing from it, have the good of love and charity within them, they have what is celestial within them, and happiness too: The spiritual-celestial however consists of every affection for truth which has within it the affection for good, that is, the affection for truth which is begotten by the affection for good; thus it is faith that has charity within it, or faith which is begotten by charity.