8672. 'And Jethro rejoiced over all the good which Jehovah had done for Israel' means the state of Divine Good when all things go well. This is clear from the representation of 'Jethro' as Divine Good, dealt with above in 8643; and from the meaning of 'rejoiced over all the good' - when used in reference to Divine Good, represented by 'Jethro' - as the state of that Good. The state of Divine Good when good is done to heaven and the angels there, also to the Church and the people there, is expressed in the Word as 'joy'. The nature of the joy however surpasses all understanding, because it is that of the Infinite. Infinite joy also exists when good is received by those in heaven and in the Church, as may be recognized from Divine Love, which is infinite towards the human race, 8644; for all joy is a characteristic of love. From all this it is evident that 'Jethro rejoiced over all the good which Jehovah had done for Israel' means the state of Divine Good when all things go well. 'Israel' is used to mean those belonging to the Lord's spiritual kingdom and spiritual Church, 8669, with whom all things went well; for they were delivered from molestations, and were after that victorious in temptations, as has been described above.

7172. I once saw spirits belonging to our planet with spirits belonging to the planet Mercury, and I heard them talking to one another. Among other things the spirits belonging to our planet asked them whom they believed in, to which they replied that they believed in God. But when they questioned them further about the God they believed in they were unwilling to say anything more, because it is not their custom to answer questions directly. Yet at that point the spirits from the planet Mercury in turn asked the spirits from our planet whom they believed in. They said, In the Lord God. But the spirits belonging to Mercury then said they perceived that they believed in no God at all and that they were accustomed to say with their lips that they believed, when in fact they did not (the reason why spirits belonging to Mercury possess keen perception is that they are constantly seeking by means of their perception to get hold of what others know). The spirits belonging to our planet were some of those who in the world were moved by what the Church taught to declare their faith, yet did not lead the life of faith. When they heard these things said about themselves they fell silent, for at that point they were given the ability to see that such things were true.