3854. And Jehovah saw. That this signifies the Lord’s foresight and providence, is evident from the signification of “seeing,” when predicated of the Lord, as being foresight and providence, which will be treated of in the following verse, concerning Reuben, whose name was given from “seeing.” (That “Jehovah” is the Lord, may be seen, n. 1343, 1736, 1793, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035.)

[2] As regards foresight and providence in general, it is foresight relatively to man, and providence relatively to the Lord. The Lord foresaw from eternity what the human race would be, and what would be the quality of each member of it, and that evil would continually increase, until at last man of himself would rush headlong into hell. On this account the Lord has not only provided means by which man may be turned from hell and led to heaven, but also from providence He continually turns and leads him. The Lord also foresaw that it would be impossible for any good to be rooted in man except in his freedom, for whatever is not rooted in freedom is dissipated on the first approach of evil and temptation. This the Lord foresaw, and also that man of himself, or from his freedom, would incline toward the deepest hell; and therefore the Lord provides that if a man should not suffer himself to be led in freedom to heaven, he may still be bent toward a milder hell; but that if he should suffer himself to be led in freedom to good, he may be led to heaven. This shows what foresight means, and what providence, and that what is foreseen is thus provided.

[3] And from this we can see how greatly the man errs who believes that the Lord has not foreseen, and does not see, the veriest singulars appertaining to man, and that in these He does not foresee and lead; when the truth is that the Lord’s foresight and providence are in the very minutest of these veriest singulars connected with man, in things so very minute that it is impossible by any thought to comprehend as much as one out of a hundred millions of them; for every smallest moment of man’s life involves a series of consequences extending to eternity, each moment being as a new beginning to those which follow; and so with all and each of the moments of his life, both of his understanding and of his will. And as the Lord foresaw from eternity what would be man’s quality, and what it would be to eternity, it is evident that His providence is in the veriest singulars, and as before said governs and bends the man to such a quality; and this by a continual moderating of his freedom. But concerning this subject, of the Lord’s Divine mercy more hereafter.

2751. Above in front before the left eye were massed together such as in the life of the body had in secret and with great craftiness plotted against others. They were adulterers, and were still in the world of spirits, as they were among the newcomers. Their custom was to send forth from their troop this way and that some to plot intrigues, not only against conjugial love, but also against good and truth, and most of all against the Lord. They who are thus sent out return to them, and relate what they have heard; and so they take counsel. They also sent one to me, supposing that I was a spirit, because I spoke with the speech of spirits. When that emissary spoke, he uttered scandalous things, mostly against the Lord; so that he was as it were made up of mere scandals. But I answered that he should abstain from such things, as I knew from what band and what refuse he was; and that as regards the Lord, I knew beyond all doubt that He is one with the Father; that the universal heaven is His; that all innocence, peace, love, charity, and mercy are from Him, and all conjugial love also; and that from Him are all good and truth; all of which things are Divine; and that Moses and the Prophets, that is, all and everything in the Word, in the internal sense, treats of Him; and that all the rites of the Jewish Church represented Him; and as I was so certain of these things that I had no doubt, what more did he want? On hearing these things he withdrew with shame. These things were said, that he might tell them to the adulterers who constituted that wicked troop from which he was sent.