238. And miserable and poor, signifies that they do not know that they have neither knowledges of truth nor knowledges of good. This is evident from the signification of "miserable" or "pitiable," as meaning those who are in no knowledges of truth; and from the signification of "poor" as meaning those who are in no knowledges of good. That this is the meaning of "miserable" and "poor" is evident from many passages in the Word, and also from this, that spiritual misery and poverty are nothing else than a lack of the knowledges of truth and good, for the spirit is then miserable and poor; but when the spirit possesses these it is rich and wealthy; therefore also "riches" and "wealth" in the Word signifies spiritual riches and wealth, which are the knowledges of truth and good (as was shown just above, n. 236).

[2] "Miserable and poor" are terms used in many passages in the Word. He who is ignorant of the spiritual sense of the Word believes that by these no others are meant than the miserable and poor in the world. These, however, are not meant, but those who are not in truths and goods and in the knowledges thereof; and by the "miserable" indeed, those who are not in truths because not in the knowledges of truths, and by the "poor" those who are not in goods because not in the knowledges of goods. As these two, truths and goods, are meant by these two expressions, the two in many places are mentioned together; as in the passages that now follow. In David:

I am miserable and poor, Lord, remember me (Psalms 40:17; 70:5). Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, answer me, for I am miserable and poor (Psalms 86:1).

The "miserable and poor" here mean evidently those who are miserable and poor, not in respect to worldly riches but in respect to spiritual riches, as David says this of himself; therefore he also said, "Jehovah, incline thine ear, and answer me."

[3] In the same:

The wicked draw out the sword and bend their bow, to cast down the miserable and poor (Psalms 37:14).

Here also "the miserable and poor" mean evidently those who are spiritually such and yet long for the knowledges of truth and good, for it is said that "the wicked draw out the sword and bend the bow," "sword" signifying falsity combating against truth and striving to destroy it, and "bow" the doctrine of falsity fighting against the doctrine of truth; therefore it is said that they do this "to cast down the miserable and poor." (That "sword" signifies truth combating against falsity, and in a contrary sense, falsity combating against truth, see above, n. 131; and that "bow" signifies doctrine in both senses, see Arcana Coelestia 2686, 2709)

[4] So in another place in the same:

The wicked man hath persecuted the miserable and poor and the broken in heart, to slay them (Psalms 109:16).

In Isaiah:

The fool speaketh folly, and his heart doeth iniquity to practice hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul, and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want. He counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment (Isaiah 32:6-7).

Here likewise "the miserable and poor" mean those who are destitute of the knowledges of truth and good; therefore it is said that "the wicked counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by the words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment;" "by the words of a lie" means by falsities, and "to speak judgment" is to speak what is right. Because such are treated of, it is also said that he "practices hypocrisy and speaketh error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want." "To practice hypocrisy and to speak error" is to do evil from falsity, and to speak falsity from evil; "to make empty the hungry soul" is to deprive those of the knowledges of good who long for them, and "to make him who thirsteth for drink to want" is to deprive those of the knowledges of truth who long for them.

In the same:

The miserable shall have joy in Jehovah, and the poor of men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 29:19).

Here also "the miserable and poor" signify those who are in lack of truth and good and yet long for them; of these, and not of those who are miserable and poor in respect to worldly wealth, it is said that they "shall have joy in Jehovah, and shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."

[5] From this it can be seen what is signified by the "miserable and poor" in other passages of the Word, as in the following. In David:

The poor shall not always be forgotten; and the hope of the miserable shall not perish for ever (Psalms 9:18).

In the same:

God shall judge the miserable of the people, He shall save the sons of the poor. He shall deliver the poor when he crieth, and the miserable. He shall spare the weak and the poor, and the souls of the poor He shall save (Psalms 72:4, 12-13).

In the same:

The miserable shall see, they that seek Jehovah ¹ shall be glad. For Jehovah heareth the poor (Psalms 69:32-33).

In the same:

Jehovah deliverest the miserable from him that is too strong for him, the poor from them that despoil him (Psalms 35:10).

In the same:

The miserable and the poor praise Thy name (Psalms 74:21; 109:22).

In the same:

I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the miserable, and the judgment of the poor (Psalms 140:12).

Also elsewhere (as Isaiah 10:2; Jeremiah 22:16; Ezekiel 16:49; 18:12; 22:29; Amos 8:4; Deuteronomy 15:11; 24:14). "The miserable" and "the poor" are both mentioned in these passages, because it is according to the style of the Word that where truth is spoken of, good is also spoken of; and in a contrary sense, where falsity is spoken of, evil is also spoken of, since they make a one, and as if it were a marriage; this is why "the miserable and the poor" are mentioned together; for, by "the miserable" those deficient in the knowledges of truth are meant, and by "the poor" those deficient in the knowledges of good. (That there is such a marriage almost everywhere in the prophetical parts of the Word, see Arcana Coelestia 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314.)

For the same reason it is said in what follows, "and blind and naked;" for by "the blind" one who is in no understanding of truth is meant, and by "the naked" one who is in no understanding and will of good. So in the following verse, "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried by fire, and white garments that thou mayest be clothed;" for by "gold tried by fire" the good of love is meant, and by "white garments" the truths of faith. And further, "That the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see," which means, lest evils and falsities be seen. So also elsewhere. But that there is such a marriage in the particulars of the Word, none but those who know its internal sense can see.

Фусноте:

4031. 'And before [the eyes of those of] the flock which came together later he did not put [the rods] in' means things that are compulsory. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming together later'. 'Coming together first' means, as shown above in 4029, that which is spontaneous or free; and from this, as well as from the sequence of thought in the internal sense, it is evident that 'coming together later' means that which is compulsory or non-free. It is also evident from the consideration that the expression 'coming on heat' is not used here as it is of those which came together first. For 'coming on heat' means affection, in this case an intense desire. Anything that does not begin from affection is not spontaneous or free, for everything spontaneous or free is in keeping with one's affection or love, 2870. This consideration is also evident from the derivation of the expression in the original language as a lack, for if the intense desire is lacking, all sense of freedom is at an end, in which case that which a pervert does is referred to as non-freedom and at length that which is compulsory.

[2] It may be seen from the paragraphs quoted above in 4029 that every joining together of truth and good, and therefore all reformation and regeneration, is effected in freedom, that is, is the outcome of what is spontaneous. Consequently no joining together of truth and good, thus no regeneration, is possible in the absence of freedom, that is, through compulsion. What freedom is, and the origin of it, see 2870-2893, where Human Freedom is the subject. Anyone who is unaware of the fact that no joining of truth and good, that is, no making of these one's own, and so no regeneration, is possible except in a person's freedom, ends up - if he reasons about the Lord's Providence, about human salvation, and about the eternal damnation of many - with utterly dim misconceptions and then with serious errors. For he imagines that if the Lord is willing, He is able to save anyone, and to do so by all manner of means beyond number - by miracles, by the dead coming back again, by direct revelations, by angels withholding people from evils, and driving them to good by the plain use of force, and by many states into which a person is introduced and becomes repentant, and by many other means.

[3] But he does not know that all of these means involve compulsion and that nobody can be reformed through them. For anything that compels a person does not impart any affection to him; or if it is of such a nature that it does impart an affection, it binds itself to an affection for evil. Indeed it seems to instill, and does in fact instill, some holiness, but even so, when the state is altered he goes back to his previous affections, which are evils and falsities. In that case that holiness links itself to the evils and falsities and is turned into profanity, such as leads him into the worst hell of all. For that person first of all acknowledges and believes, and also has an affection for what is holy; but after that he denies it, indeed he loathes it. For profaners are those who at one point acknowledge with the heart and after that deny, not those who have not acknowledged with the heart, see 301-303, 571, 582, 593, 1001, 1008, 1010, 1059, 1327, 1328, 2051, 2426, 3398, 3399, 3402, 3898. For this reason evident miracles do not take place at the present day, only miracles which are not evident or plain to see and which are of such a nature that they do not enforce any holiness or take away a person's freedom from him. This is why the dead do not come back again and why no one is withheld from evil by direct revelations, or by angels, and led to good by the plain use of force.

[4] It is man's freedom into which the Lord operates, and by means of which He turns him in a different direction. For all freedom involves that which is present in his love or affection, and so in his will, 3158. If he does not receive good and truth in freedom it cannot be made or become his own, since that which is for him compulsory is not his own but belongs to whoever compels it. For he is not acting of himself even though the action is done by him. It does sometimes seem as though a person is drawn under compulsion towards good, as in temptations and spiritual conflicts. But within these experiences he is in greater freedom than when he is outside them, see 1937, 1947, 2881. It also seems as though a person is acting under compulsion when he compels himself to do good; but self-compulsion is one thing, being compelled is another. Self-compulsion with anyone is a product of the freedom within him, but being compelled is a product of non-freedom. This shows what dim misconceptions and then what errors people end up with who reason about the Lord's Providence, about human salvation, and about the eternal damnation of many, yet who are unaware of the fact that it is freedom through which the Lord operates and by no means through compulsion. For compulsion in things of a holy nature if not freely accepted is dangerous.