2
說：你的母親是甚麼呢？是個母獅子，蹲伏在獅子中間，在少壯獅子中養育小獅子。
5
母獅見自己等候失了指望，就從他小獅子中又將一個養為少壯獅子。
7
他知道列國的宮殿，又使他們的城邑變為荒場；因他咆哮的聲音，遍地和其中所有的就都荒廢。
8
於是四圍邦國各省的人來攻擊他，將網撒在他身上，捉在他們的坑中。
9
他們用鉤子鉤住他，將他放在籠中，帶到巴比倫王那裡，將他放入堅固之所，使他的聲音在以色列山上不再聽見。
10
你的母親先前如葡萄樹，極其茂盛（原文是在你血中），栽於水旁。因為水多，就多結果子，滿生枝子；
11
生出堅固的枝幹，可作掌權者的杖。這枝幹高舉在茂密的枝中，而且他生長高大，枝子繁多，遠遠可見。
289. 'Wife' is used to mean the Church, in the universal sense the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth. This too has been shown already, while the fact that 'mother' as well has the same meaning follows from this. In the Word the Church is commonly called 'mother', as in Isaiah,
Where is your mother's bill of divorce? Isaiah 50:1.
In Jeremiah,
Your, mother has been utterly shamed, she who bore you is covered with shame. Jeremiah 50:12.
In Ezekiel,
[You are] your mother's daughter who loathes her husband and her sons. Your mother is a Hittite and your father an Amorite. Ezekiel 16:45.
Here 'husband' (vir) stands for the Lord and everything celestial, 'sons for truths of faith, 'Hittite' for falsity, and 'Amorite' for evil. In the same prophet,
Your mother was like a vine in your likeness, planted beside the waters, fruitful, full of branches by reason of many waters. Ezekiel 19:10.
Here 'mother' stands for the Ancient Church. The Most Ancient Church is pre-eminently called a 'mother' because it was the first Church, and the only one to be celestial. For that reason it was the Lord's beloved more than any other.
