2163. 'Recline under the tree' means towards the perception of the state through which He was passing. This is clear from the meaning of 'a tree' as perception, dealt with in 103. The whole train of thought shows that this is the real meaning here. 'Trees' means perceptions, and the reason for this was that the celestial man was compared and likened to the paradise or garden in Eden, and therefore the perceptions of celestial things with that man to the trees that were there.

1300. 'Clay' means the good from which the mind or the member of the Church is formed. This too is clear from the Word, as in Isaiah,

But now, O Jehovah, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You are our potter; and we are all the work of Your hands. Isaiah 64:8, 9.

'Clay' stands for the member himself of the Church who is being formed, and so stands for good stemming from charity by means of which the formation, that is, the reformation and regeneration, of every man is achieved In Jeremiah,

Like the clay in the hand of the potter so are you in My hand, ¹ O house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:6.

Here too 'clay' has a similar meaning. Whether reference is made to building with clay or to forming from it, it amounts to the same.

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