The 23rd Psalm is one of the best-known and most-loved literary works in the world, and it may well be the best poem ever written. It is also a fine example of the power of figurative language: We read deep things into the vision of ourselves as sheep, led to green pastures and good water by a kind shepherd. It’s empowering to feel the confidence to go fearlessly into the valley of the shadow of death, and to feel the love and caring of a table prepared by the Lord and a cup so full it overflows.

What people don’t know, however, is that this language actually has precise internal meanings, and that when we see them there is an even deeper beauty in the poem. That’s because what it actually describes is the path to heaven, and the fierce desire the Lord has to lead us there.

The first step is to let the Lord be our shepherd – to accept His teaching and His leadership. The green pastures and the still waters represent the things He will teach us for the journey. Then He begins working inside is, setting our spiritual lives in order, so that we desire to do what’s good and to love one another. That’s represented by restoring our souls and leading us in the paths of righteousness.

But we will still face challenges. We still live external lives, out in the world, and we are subject to desires that arise in those externals, in our bodily lives. That’s the valley of the shadow of death. But the rod and staff represent truth from the Lord on both external and internal levels, ideas that can defend us against those desires.

And if we keep following, the Lord will prepare a table for us – a place inside us that he can fill with love (the anointing oil) and wisdom (the overflowing cup). Thus transformed, we can enter heaven, with love for others (“goodness”) and love from the Lord (“mercy”) and can love and be loved to eternity.

One of many beautiful things about this is the fact that it is the Lord who really does all the work. In the whole text, the only action taken by the sheep is walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Other than that, they follow the Lord, trust the Lord, accept the blessings of the Lord. And that is really true! In external states (in the valley) we might seem to be doing the work ourselves, but internally, spiritually, we simply need to give ourselves to the Lord and let Him bless us.

The underlying idea here is that the Lord created us so that He could love us, in loving us wants us to be happy, knows that our greatest happiness will come from being conjoined to Him in heaven, and Himself wants nothing more than to be conjoined to us. So everything He does, in every moment of every day for every person on the face of the planet, is centered on the goal of getting that person to heaven. He wants each and every one of us in heaven more than we are capable of imagining. We just need to cooperate.

(Referenser: Apocalypse Explained 375 [34], 727 [2]; The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms 273)

449. Of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand sealed, signifies the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the lowest heaven. This is evident from the representation of "Benjamin" and the tribe named from him, as being the spiritual-celestial in the natural man, as "Joseph" represents it in the spiritual. The spiritual-celestial is truth conjoined to good; for truth regarded in itself is spiritual, and good is celestial; therefore by "Benjamin" and his tribe the conjunction of truth and good in the natural is signified, and thus here the conjunction with the Lord of those who are in the lowest heaven; for in the lowest heaven are those who are in natural good and truth from the spiritual and the celestial. Those who are in the lowest heaven are either spiritual-natural or celestial-natural; the spiritual-natural there belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and the celestial-natural to His celestial kingdom, therefore the spiritual-natural communicate with the second heaven where all are spiritual, while the celestial-natural communicate with the third heaven where all are celestial (as was said in the article above).

[2] From all this the signification in the Word of "Joseph" and of "Benjamin," who were brothers, can be seen. As "Benjamin" signifies truth conjoined to good in the natural man, and thus truth conjoined to good in those who are in the lowest heaven, so he was born to Jacob last, and was called by him "son of the right hand," (Benjamin, in the original, means son of the right hand); also he was born in Bethlehem, and that city signifies truth conjoined to good in the natural. (That he was born in Bethlehem, see Genesis 35:16-19.) He was born the last because the natural, consisting of truth conjoined to good, is the ultimate of the church with man. For with man there are three degrees of life, the inmost, the middle, and the ultimate; in the inmost degree are those who are in the inmost or third heaven, in the middle degree are those who are in the middle or second heaven, and in the ultimate degree are those who are in the lowest or first heaven; so those who are in the inmost degree are called celestial, those who are in the middle are called spiritual, and those who are in the ultimate degree are called either spiritual-natural, or celestial-natural, and the conjunction of these in the ultimate degree is signified by "Benjamin." (Respecting these three degrees of life in man and angel, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 33, 34, 38, 39, 208, 209, 211, 435.) This now is why Benjamin was born the last of the sons of Jacob.

[3] He was called "the son of the right hand" because "son" signifies truth, and "right hand" signifies the power of truth from good, and in the spiritual world truth that is from good in the natural man has all power. All the power the spiritual man has is in this, because the effecting cause is in the spiritual man, and the effect is in the natural, and all the power of the effecting cause puts itself forth through the effect. (That all the power of the spiritual man is in the natural, and through the natural, see Arcana Coelestia 9836.) For this reason he was called "Benjamin," that is, "the son of the right hand." And as "Bethlehem" has a like signification, namely, truth conjoined to good in the natural man, David too was born there, and also anointed as king (1 Samuel 16:1-14; 17:12); for David as king represented the Lord in respect to truth from good, and this, too, is signified by "king" (as may be seen above, n. 29, 31, 205). For the same reason the Lord was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1, 5, 6) because He was born a king, and truth conjoined to good was with Him from birth. For every infant is born natural, and the natural, because it is next to the external senses and the world, is first opened, and this with all men is ignorant of truth and desirous of evil; but in the Lord alone the natural had a desire for good and a longing for truth; for the ruling affection in man, which is his soul, is from the father; and with the Lord, the affection or soul from the Father was the Divine Itself, which is the Divine good of the Divine love.

[4] Because "Benjamin" and his tribe signify truth conjoined to good in the natural man:

His lot in the land of Canaan was between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph; Jerusalem also, where the Jebusites then were, fell to that tribe for an inheritance (Joshua 18:11-28);

so that the sons of Benjamin dwelt there with the Jews, who afterwards occupied that city. The tribe of Benjamin had its lot among the sons of Joseph, because that tribe represented and thence signified the conjunction of good and truth; for "Judah" signifies the good of the church, and "Joseph" the truth of the church. Jerusalem fell to that tribe because "Jerusalem" signified the church in respect to doctrine and worship, and all doctrine of the church is the doctrine of truth conjoined to good, and all worship is effected according to doctrine through the natural man; for, as was said above, worship is an effect from the effecting cause which is in the spiritual man.

[5] From this the signification of "Benjamin" in the following passages can be seen. In Jeremiah:

In hallowing the sabbath they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the circuits of Jerusalem and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowland and from the mountain and from the south, bringing burnt-offering and sacrifice and meal-offering and frankincense (Jeremiah 17:26).

This was done for hallowing the sabbath because the "sabbath" signifies the union of the Divine and the Divine Human in the Lord, and in a relative sense the conjunction of His Divine Human with heaven and with the church, and in general the conjunction of good and truth (See Arcana Coelestia 8495, 8510, 10356, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730). "The cities of Judah, the circuits of Jerusalem, and the land of Benjamin," signify truths conjoined to good in the natural man; "the cities of Judah" the truths of good; "the circuits of Jerusalem" the truths of doctrine in the natural man, and "the land of Benjamin" their conjunction; for "cities" signify truths, "Judah" the good of the church, "Jerusalem" the doctrine of truth, "circuits" such things as are round about or below, which are the truths of good in the natural man, and "the land of Benjamin" the church in respect to the conjunction of these in the natural man; "from the lowland, from the mountain, and from the south," signifies good and truth in the natural man from a celestial origin and from a spiritual origin; "lowland" signifying good and truth in the natural man, because in lowlands, that is, below the mountains and hills, those dwell who are in the lowest heaven, and are called celestial-natural and spiritual-natural, as was said above; "mountains" signifying those who are in celestial good, and "south" those who are in spiritual good, and thence in the light of truth; "to bring burnt-offering and sacrifice, and meal-offering and frankincense," signifies worship from celestial good and from spiritual good in the natural man; "burnt-offering" signifying worship from celestial good; "sacrifice" worship from spiritual good; "meal-offering and frankincense" good and the truth of good in the natural man. Such is the signification of these words. Why else should it be said that in hallowing the sabbath they should come "from the cities of Judah, from the circuits of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, the mountain, and the south," and why not from the whole land of Canaan?

[6] Because all these particulars signify such things as belong to heaven and the church, like things are also mentioned elsewhere in the same Prophet:

In the cities of the mountain, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the circuits of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that numbereth them (Jeremiah 33:13).

They shall buy fields with silver, and this by writing in a book, and by causing witnesses to witness, in the land of Benjamin, and in the circuits of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountain, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the south, for I will turn back their captivity (Jeremiah 32:8, 44).

In these passages "the land of Benjamin, the circuits of Jerusalem, the cities of Judah, the mountain, the lowland, and the south," have a similar signification as above; thus "Benjamin" signifies the conjunction of truth and good in the natural man, and accordingly the conjunction of truth and good with those who are in the lowest heaven.

[7] In the same:

Gather yourselves, ye sons of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and sounding sound the trumpet, and upon the house of the vineyard kindle a conflagration, for evil looketh forth from the north, and a great breaking up (Jeremiah 6:1).

In the spiritual sense this treats of the devastation of the church in respect to truth and good, because it is against Zion and Jerusalem, for "Zion" signifies the good of the church, and "Jerusalem" its truth; and as "the sons of Benjamin" signify the conjunction of good and truth, they are told "to gather themselves out of the midst of Jerusalem, to sound the trumpet, and upon the house of the vineyard to kindle a conflagration;" "to sound the trumpet" signifying combat against that church from truths that are from good; "house of the vineyard" that church itself, and "to kindle a conflagration" its destruction by evil loves; the "north from which the evil looks forth" signifies the falsity of evil, and "a great breaking up" signifies the dispersion of good and truth.

[8] In David:

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest upon the cherubim shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up Thy might, and come for salvation to us (Psalms 80:1, 2).

"Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh," do not mean Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, but those who are in natural truth and good, and with whom there is a conjunction of these (See above, n. 440), where this is explained).

[9] In the same:

Bless ye God in the assemblies, the Lord from the fountain of Israel. There little Benjamin is over them, the princes of Judah, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali (Psalms 68:26, 27).

Here Benjamin, the princes of Judah, of Zebulun, and of Naphtali, are not meant, but those things of the church that are signified by these tribes; and "little Benjamin" here signifies the innocence of the natural man; the innocence of the natural man is in the conjunction of good and truth there. (This too may be seen explained above, n. 439.)

[10] In the blessing of the sons of Israel by Moses:

Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of Jehovah, he shall dwell safely by him. He shall cover him all the day, and he shall dwell between His shoulders (Deuteronomy 33:12).

"Benjamin" here signifies the Word in the ultimate sense, which is natural; for in this blessing by Moses the Word is described, and each tribe signifies something of it; and as the ultimate sense of the Word, which is natural, has in it a marriage of good and truth, as has been shown in many places, therefore Benjamin is called "the beloved of Jehovah," and it is said "he shall dwell safely by him, and He shall cover him all the day, and he shall dwell between His shoulders," "to dwell between the shoulders" meaning in safety and in power.

[11] The signification of "Benjamin" in the prophecy of Israel the father respecting his son (Genesis 49:27) has been explained in the Arcana Coelestia 6439-6444). In that prophecy, Benjamin is the last one treated of, because he signifies the ultimate of the church and of heaven; the ultimate is the natural, in which truth is conjoined to good.

[12] Because this is the signification of "Benjamin":

The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin pitched in the wilderness about the tent of meeting, on the west side (Numbers 2:18-24);

and these three tribes signify all who are in natural truth and good, and in the conjunction of these, "Ephraim" signifying truth in the natural man, "Manasseh" good there (as has been shown above), and "Benjamin" the conjunction of these. These tribes pitched on the west side, because in heaven those dwell at the west and at the north who are in the obscurity of good and in the obscurity of truth, thus who are in natural good and truth; but those dwell at the east and at the south in heaven who are in clearness of good and truth. (Respecting this see in the work on Heaven and Hell 141-153.)

[13] From this it can now be seen what "Benjamin" signifies in the Word, namely, the conjunction of good and truth in the natural man, and its conjunction through good with the spiritual; for all good that is good in the natural man flows in from the spiritual man, that is, through the spiritual man from the Lord. Without such influx there is no good in the natural man; therefore "Benjamin" signifies also the conjunction of the spiritual man with the natural, and "Joseph" the conjunction of the celestial man with the spiritual.