9275. 'And the needy of your people will eat' means being joined through the good of charity to those who possess few truths and still have a desire to receive instruction. This is clear from the meaning of 'eating' as communicating and being joined together, dealt with in 2187, 3596, 5643, 8001; from the meaning of 'the needy' as those who have few truths owing to lack of knowledge and still have a desire to receive instruction, dealt with in 9253; and from the meaning of 'people', at this point the people of Israel, as those who belong to the Church, dealt with in 4286, 6426, 6637, 8805. From these meanings it is evident that 'the needy of your people will eat' means joining the Church to those who possess few truths and still have a desire to receive instruction. The reason why the words 'being joined through the good of charity' are used is that such good joins people together, which is the subject dealt with in the very next paragraph.

6624. Since man thinks on the level of the senses such things are obscure to him, so obscure indeed that he does not know what an idea is, in particular that thought is distinguished into separate ideas as speech is into words. For to man thought seems to be continuous, without separate parts; but in actual fact ideas constituting thought are the words that spirits use, and ideas constituting more internal thought are the words that angels use. And because ideas are the words they use to speak with, they are audible among spirits and angels. This explains why man's silent thought can be heard by spirits and angels, when it pleases the Lord that it should be. How perfect the ideas constituting thought are in comparison with the words composing speech may be recognized from the fact that a person can think more in a minute than he can speak or write in an hour. I have also recognized it from conversations with spirits and angels; for at such times I have in a single moment filled in the broad outlines of a subject with specific details, while my affection was engaged. The angels and spirits grasped every distinct detail, and many more that manifested themselves around that subject like a cloud.