Consider the simple faith expressed in this psalm to the Lord. A confidence that evil will be punished and that good will always prevail. The future is bright. There is no need to worry.

We might assume that the author was an idealistic youth - one who has never experienced pain or disappointment. Yet this psalm did not come from any naive child. It was written by a very old man, a man who had known incredible hardships. It is a psalm of David.

Think of David. Although from a shepherd he became king, he also knew hardship. As a youth he had to flee for his life from the jealous Saul. He felt the grief over being responsible for the death of his infant son. Later, as king, he saw his children rape and kill one another. He was forced to flee Jerusalem for his life, because his own son Absalom had rebelled. Then he regained his throne at the cost of his beloved Absalom's life.

David experienced intense pain. Yet he could advise us not to worry about those who do evil. All we need do is trust in the Lord and do good. Indeed, he claims that those who commit their way to the Lord will have everything they need, even if it be but a little in comparison with those who are evil. There is nothing in the future to fear. The good will be rewarded for their efforts.

Comparing this psalm with David's life, we may think that he had an unrealistic view of providence. But consider a similar teaching from the doctrines of the New Church: "When the Lord is present with someone, he leads him, and provides that all things which happen, whether sad or joyful, befall him for good; this is the Divine providence" (Arcana Coelestia 6303). Whatever happens - being promoted or fired, realizing our dreams or having them dashed - all result in good!

A difficult idea to accept - in large part because it seems like the Lord thereby is just manipulating us, causing evil to come into our lives.

But such is not the case. The Lord would never make anything bad happen. And He would prefer that we never suffer any pain. His providence is a gentle leading which causes good things to happen, and tolerates evil things. However He permits us to hurt ourselves and He allows others to cause us pain. Not as punishment, but as the result of free choices by individuals and groups.

One of the greatest stumbling blocks to sensing mercy in His providence is that when we feel pain or worry about serious problems we think that is all there is in life. We cannot see beyond the suffering, the hurt. But while we are occupied with worry, the Lord is already looking ahead - to what can come from the experience, to how He can lead us to grow in spite of the difficulty. For the Lord's view is eternal. He sees hope when we see none. He leads to happiness when we feel hurt.

The apparently random and purposeless events in life are described in the Heavenly Doctrines with pebbles. The Lord allows a person "to go here and there, so that the moments of his life appear like scattered pebbles. But the Lord then sees whether he fills up that space between them; He sees what is lacking and where; and then, continually, what is next in order, after a hundred or a thousand years" (Spiritual Experiences 4692[m]). The Lord's sight and providence encompasses eons of time. He sees all we are, and all we might become. He then gradually provides for it - not immediately, but over the course of an eternal lifetime. Whatever happens, whatever decisions we make, or whatever others do to us - the Lord eventually turns everything to good.

Unfortunately, our view is seldom as long. We cannot see how things will turn out in twenty, much less two thousand years. And when we are suffering our sight is even more limited. So we worry about what will happen. We may try to trust in His guidance, but we are more likely to feel abandoned by the Lord. Whatever He might be doing is both invisible and insensible to us.

In such a frame of mind we might wish we could see the future, be certain of how things will work out. If we were assured of the specific outcome, or knew exactly which path were the best to follow, we could really trust in the Lord - have confidence in Him to lead us.

Yet, in this, as in all other things, the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. He does not hide the workings of providence from us as a test of our trust, or a puzzle for us to sort out. The Divine does not tease us. But the Lord is fully aware that if we were to know the future, or if we received the "right" answers to our specific questions by a voice out of heaven, we would wind up destroying ourselves.

Imagine what we would feel like if someone predicted every last thing that we would experience for the 24 hours. At first we would disbelieve, but what if the predictions started coming true? It would be disturbing, to say the least. And would we not begin to feel restricted, and try to prevent the predictions from coming true?

We value our freedom, our sense of self. We will protect it at all costs. When we are forced to do something, or if we are pressured into one course of action, do we not rebel, wanting to act against that pressure?

Such resistance is not adolescent or infantile reaction to authority. It stems from our inner freedom of thought. For us to be human beings we need to think things out for ourselves and then act in freedom. Whatever choices we make determine the kind of person we become - and whether our choices are good or bad, at least they make us who we choose to be, not who someone else forces us to be.

Yet, when we are confused or suffering, we have a tremendous yearning to see something of the potential the Lord sees for us and those we love. Unfortunately, if we were able to glimpse it, we would probably work against it. A paradox which can be frustrating and lead us to worry about the future.

It would be much better if we could just let go and trust the Lord to make the best of whatever we do. That is what the angels do. They have no memory of past events from their earthly life to trouble them. Nor do they have any desire to know what is to come. For they are content in the present. Imagine if we could be so fully engaged in our present activities, dealing with what we can do rather than what is beyond our power, that we had no time to worry about the future! It is a goal worth striving for.

But for now, we tend to worry. We tend to worry about our jobs, our health, our children, the international situation, our spiritual state. It can on go on and on. Certainly some amount of thoughtful consideration is important. We are meant to make plans for the future - use good judgment to provide for our families. And we can delight in looking forward to continued productivity or happier times. But planning and worrying about what might or might not occur can become excessive.

The Psalms admonish us: "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret - it only causes harm" (37:8). Do not worry, it only causes pain. Thinking too much of the future can lead us to forget that the Lord's providence is silently guiding us. The doctrines of the New Church point out that, "a longing to know the future is innate with most people; but this longing derives its origin from the love of evil" (Divine Providence 179).

Anxiety about the future stems from a lack of confidence that the Lord can lead us to happiness. Since He works invisibly, we can think that we are the only ones who have any direct influence upon what happens. It is a subtle trust in self, and denial that the Lord can be relied upon. Certainly it appears as if we have to do all the work, but it is not the reality. For we could not have created ourselves. We can't even make ourselves happy!

So the Heavenly Doctrines describe the Lord's providence "as when one walks in thick forests, the exit out of which he does not know; but when he finds it, he attributes the discovery to himself, whereas providence meantime is as one who stands in a tower, sees the wanderings of such a person, and leads him without his knowing it to the place of exit" (Spiritual Experiences 4393). The Lord is in the tower, inspiring our thoughts, motivating our actions so that we can be led from darkness into light.

But His guiding can only be effective when we cooperate. We have to search for ways out of the forest. The Lord gave us the ability to think so we would use it. If we sit back and ponder our situation, how hopeless it may seem, little is accomplished. Can we add one cubit to our height by worrying about it? We also need to act. If we stand around and complain about how lost we are, or how unfair life is, it is very difficult for the Lord to lead us anywhere. He will not drag us out of our forests against our wills.

It is as the Psalm said: "Trust in the Lord and do good." Such simple advice, but so true! We cannot alter the past, but we can do something in the present, enabling the Lord to create a happy future.

There will still be times of selfishness where we long to know how things could possibly work out, and there will still be things happening to us which are not pleasant. We cannot control life. But we can avoid being defeated by it. We have been given the knowledge of how the Lord operates to bring about happiness in the long term. We have been given the freedom to act with reason. We have the basis for trusting in Him.

Let us then listen to the Psalm, not worrying about the future, not worrying about what is or what might be. Let us do the good that we can, and leave the rest to the Lord. After all, He should be able to do a much better job than we. Let us commit our ways to the Lord, trusting in Him, and He can give us the heavenly desires of our hearts.

(Referenser: Arcana Coelestia 6303; Divine Providence 176; Spiritual Experiences 2178, 4393, 4692)

167. And all [the churches] shall know that I am he who searcheth the reins and hearts. That this signifies the acknowledgment, on the part of all those who belong to the church, that the Lord alone knows and explores the exteriors and interiors and the things pertaining to faith and love is evident from the signification of searching, when said of the Lord, as being that He alone knows and explores; and from the signification of the reins, as being the truths of faith, and their purification from falsities, concerning which we shall speak in what follows; and from the signification of hearts, as being the goods of love. The reason why the heart signifies the good of love is, that there are two things that reign in man, from which all the life of his body is derived - the heart and the lungs. And because all things in a man's body correspond to all the things in his mind, and there are also two things that reign there, the will and the understanding, therefore these two kingdoms of the mind correspond to the two kingdoms of the body - the will to the heart and its pulse, and the understanding to the lungs and their respiration; without this correspondence the body could not live, nor even a particle of it. Because the heart corresponds to the will, it also corresponds to the good of love; and as the lungs correspond to the understanding, they also correspond to the truths of faith. It is from this correspondence that the heart signifies love, and the soul (anima) signifies faith; hence the expression "from the heart and soul" is so often used in the Word, by which is meant from the love and faith. (This correspondence is much treated of in Arcana Coelestia, where the following particulars may be seen more fully explained, namely, that the heart in the Word signifies love, and because it signifies love, that it also signifies the will, n. 2930, 3313, 7542, 8910, 9050, 9113, 10336. That the heart corresponds to the things that pertain to man's love, and the lungs to the things that pertain to his faith, n. 3883-3896. That in heaven there is a pulse like that of the heart, and a respiration like that of the lungs, n. 3884, 3885, 3887. That the pulse of the heart there is according to the state of love, and the respiration of the lungs according to the state of faith, n. 3886-3889; that the influx of the heart into the lungs is circumstanced like the influx of good into truth, or of the will into the understanding and of love into faith, and that the communications and conjunctions are similar, n. 3884, 3887-3889, 9300, 9495. Concerning the influx of heaven into the heart and into the lungs, from experience, n. 3884. That from this correspondence in the Word, when it is said from the heart and from the soul, it signifies from the love and faith, n. 2930, 9050; that the conjunction of man's spirit with his body is by means of the respiration of the lungs and of the pulse of the heart, and that therefore when these cease, man's body dies, but his spirit lives, see the work, Heaven and Hell; and that when the pulse of the heart ceases, the spirit is separated, because the heart corresponds to love which is the vital heat, n.447, in that work. Many other things concerning that correspondence may be seen there, n. 95.) That the kidneys signify the truths of faith and the purification of them from falsities, is because the purification of the blood is performed in the kidneys; and by blood in the Word is signified truth, as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia. n. 4735, 9127. The same also is signified by the organ which purifies: also all purification from falsities is effected by means of truths.

It is therefore evident that by Jehovah, or the Lord, in the Word, searching the heart and reins is signified that He explores the goods of love and the truths of faith, and separates them from evils and falsities.

[2] This is signified by reins in the following places: in Jeremiah,

"Jehovah Zebaoth, judge of justice, proving the reins and the heart" (11:20).

Again:

"Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit; thou art near in their mouth and far from their reins. Jehovah, thou shalt see me, and shalt prove my heart" (12:2, 3).

By being near in the mouth, and far from the reins is meant truth only in the memory, and thence in some of his thoughts when a man speaks, but not in the will and thence in act. Truth in the will and thence in act is that which separates and dissipates falsities; truth in the will and thence in act is to will and do what a man knows and thinks to be truth; this truth is what is specifically meant by reins.

[3] Again in the same prophet:

"I Jehovah search the heart, and prove the reins, even to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works" (17:10).

To search the heart is to purify good by separating evil from it; to prove the reins, is to purify truth by separating falsity from it. It is therefore said, "To give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works"; ways denote the truths of faith, and the fruit of works denotes the goods of love. (That ways denote truths of faith, may be seen above, n. 97, and that the fruit of works denotes the goods of love, n. 98, 109, 116.)

[4] In the same:

"Jehovah Zebaoth, proving the just, seeing the reins and the heart" (20:12).

And in David:

"Establish the just for thou who triest the hearts and reins art a just God" (Psalms 7:9).

The just denote those who love to do what is good and true, whose truths and goods are purified by the Lord, which is signified by His seeing and trying the reins and the hearts.

In the same:

"Prove me, O Jehovah, and try me, explore my reins and my heart" (Psalms 26:2).

Because truths are separated from falsities and goods from evils by temptations, it is therefore said, try me. In the same:

"For my heart was embittered and I am pricked in my reins. But I am foolish, and I do not know" (Psalms 73:21, 22).

The infestation of good by evil and of truth by falsity, is described by these words.

In the same:

"Behold, thou desirest truth in the reins, and in the hidden part thou makest wisdom known to me" (Psalms 51:6).

Here reins are expressed by another word in the original tongue, which involves the separation both of falsities from truths and of evils from goods. It is therefore evident that the reins signify purification and separation.

[5] In the same:

"I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel; nightly, also, do my reins chastise me" (Psalms 16:7).

Nights signify the state of man when falsities rise up; the combat in such cases of truths with them is signified by "my reins chastise me." In the same:

"Even the darkness doth not make darkness before thee, but the night is light as the day; as the darkness so is the light; for thou possessest my reins, my bone was not hid from thee when I was made in secret" (Psalms 139:12, 13, 15).

Falsities are signified by darkness and truths by light; to possess the reins, is to know the falsities and truths pertaining to man; hence it is said, "my bone was not hid from thee when I was made in secret," which signifies that no falsity that was made could be bid. (That darkness denotes falsities and light truths may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 126-140 and that bone signifies truth in the ultimate of order, and, in the opposite sense, falsity, in Arcana Coelestia 3812, 5560, 5565, 6592, 8005.)

[6] Because the reins signified truths purified from falsities, therefore in the sacrifices the fats and reins were alone offered up, as may be seen in Exodus 29:13; Leviticus 3:4, 10, 15; 4:9; and other places.

The reason why the fats and reins alone were offered upon the altar was, because the fats signified the goods of love, and the reins the truths of faith. (That fats or fatnesses signify the goods of love, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 353, 5943, 6409, 10033. That the reins signify the truths of faith examining, purifying, and rejecting from themselves falsities is from correspondence; for all parts of the body, even the most minute, have a correspondence, as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, where it is shown, under its proper article, that "there is a correspondence of all things of heaven with all things of man," n. 87-102; and concerning the kidneys, n.96, 97.) Unless it be known that there is such a correspondence, who could know why it is so often stated of Jehovah, or the Lord, in the Word, that He searches and tries the reins and the heart? (Concerning the correspondence of the kidneys, the ureters, and vesicles, see Arcana Coelestia 5380-5386.) The reason why to search the reins and the heart also signifies to explore the exteriors and interiors of man is, that truth is without, and good is within; and spiritual good, which in its essence is truth, and which is specifically signified by the reins, is exterior good: but celestial good, which is specifically signified by the heart, is interior good. (This is more evident from what is said and shown concerning, the spiritual kingdom and the celestial kingdom in the work, Heaven and Hell 20-26.)