326. (5:9) And they sang a new song. That this signifies acknowledgment and confession from joy of heart, appears from the signification of a song, as denoting acknowledgment and confession from joy of heart, here acknowledgment and confession that the Lord, as to the Divine Human has all power in the heavens and on the earths. The reason why confession has reference to it, is, because it is the subject treated of here. The reason why to sing a song signifies confession from joy of heart, is, because joy of heart puts itself forth by singing, when it is in its fulness; and the reason that this is done by singing is because when the heart is full of joy and thence the thought also, it then pours itself forth in singing - the very joy of the heart in the sound of the singing, and the joy of the thought thence in the song. The quality of the joy of the thought is presented by the expressions of the song, that are conformable and agreeable to what is in the thought from the heart; and the quality of the joy of the heart, by the harmony; and the amount of the joy thereof, by the elevation of the sound and of the expressions therein. All these things flow as it were spontaneously from the joy itself, and for this reason, that the whole heaven is formed according to the affections of good and truth, the highest heaven according to the affections of good, and the middle heaven according to the affections of truth; consequently, it is also formed according to joys, for all joy is from affection or from love; hence it is that in all angelic discourse there is a certain harmony. (But these things can be better known and proved from what is said and shown in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, namely, that the thoughts and affections of angels proceed according to the form of heaven, n. 200-212, and 265-275; and that hence there is a certain harmony in their speech, n. 242; also that the sound of the speech of angels corresponds to their affections, and the articulations of sound, which are the expressions, correspond to the ideas of the thought that is from the affection, n. 236, 241; and, moreover, in the Arcana Coelestia 1648, 1649, 2595, [2596] ¹ , 3350, 5182, 8115.) Hence it is clear that the harmony of singing, and also the musical art, which can express the various kinds of affections, and be applied to things or circumstances, are from the spiritual world, and not from the natural, as is supposed (concerning which see also the work concerning Heaven and Hell 241).

[2] This is the reason that many kinds of musical instruments were used in sacred worship among the Jewish and Israelitish nation, of which some had reference to the affections of celestial good, and some to the affections of spiritual good, and to the joys thence, which were spread abroad. The stringed instruments had reference to the affections of spiritual good, and the wind instruments to the affections of celestial good, to which also singing with songs was associated, by which things agreeing with the sounds of the affections were formed. All the psalms of David were of this nature, therefore they are called psalms (psalmi), from playing, (psallere), and also songs. From these considerations it may also be evident why it is said that the four animals and twenty-four elders had harps, and also sang this song.

[3] That singing and to sing a song, signify acknowledgment and confession from joy of heart, appears from the following passages. In Isaiah:

"In that day thou shalt say, I will confess Jehovah, O God of my salvation, I will trust, I will not be afraid; for Jah is my strength and song; Jehovah was my salvation. Then ye shall draw waters out of the wells of salvation. And in that day ye shall say, Confess Jehovah, call upon his name, sing unto Jehovah. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee" (12:1-6).

Thus is described confession from joy of heart on account of the Lord's advent, and His Divine power in saving the human race. That it denotes confession is evident, for it is first said, I will confess Jehovah, and also, afterwards, confess Jehovah. The confession, that the Lord from His Divine power would save mankind, is described by these words, "God of my salvation, I will trust, I will not be afraid, for he is my strength, he also was my salvation. Then ye shall draw waters out of the wells of salvation in that day; great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." In that day, denotes when the Lord shall come; the Holy One of Israel is the Lord; the joy thence, which is the joy of confession, is described by, Sing unto Jehovah, cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; the inhabitant and daughter of Zion denote the church, where the Lord is worshipped. The song Jah, signifies the celebration and glorification of the Lord.

[4] In the same:

"Sing unto Jehovah a new song, his praise, O end of the earth. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains" (42:10, 11).

Here also the Lord's advent is treated of, and the establishment of the church among those who were outside the church or with those where the Word was not, and the Lord was not before known. To sing a new song, signifies confession from joy of heart; to sing praise, O end of the earth, signifies the confession of those who are remote from the church; the end of the earth is where that which pertains to the church terminates, the earth denoting the church; the wilderness and the cities thereof which lift up the voice, signify those with whom there is no good because there is no truth, which they nevertheless desire; the inhabitants of the rock, signify the good of faith pertaining to them; the top of the mountains, signifies the good of love pertaining to them; to sing and to shout, signify confession thence from joy of mind and heart.

[5] In the same:

"Jehovah shall comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her solitude like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, confession and the voice of singing" (51:3; 52:8, 9).

These words also refer to the Lord's advent and the establishment of the church, which at that time was vastated or destroyed. By Zion is signified the church where the Lord is to be worshipped; by her waste places is signified a lack of truth and good from a want of knowledge; by making her wilderness like Eden, and her solitude like the garden of Jehovah, is signified that they shall have truth and good in abundance; wilderness is predicated of the want of good, and solitude of the want of truth; Eden signifies good in abundance, and the garden of Jehovah signifies truth in abundance. Because singing and a song signify confession from joy of heart, therefore it is said joy and gladness shall be therein, confession and the voice of singing; the voice of singing denoting [the same as] a song.

[6] In Lamentations:

"The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from singing. The joy of our heart has ceased" (5:14, 15).

The elders have ceased from the gate, signifies that those who are in truths from good, or, in the abstract, truths from good, by which introduction into the church takes place, are no more; the young men have ceased from singing, signifies that truths themselves are deprived of their spiritual affection, and thence of their joy; and because this is signified it is said, "The joy of our heart has ceased."

[7] In Ezekiel:

"I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of the harps shall be no more heard" (26:13).

The noise of the songs signifies the joys of confessions; the sound of the harps signifies gladness from spiritual truths and goods.

[8] In David:

"Jehovah is my strength and my shield; my heart rejoiceth, and with my song will I confess him" (28:7).

Because a song signifies confession from joy of heart, therefore it is said, "my heart rejoiceth, and with my song will I confess him."

[9] In the same:

"Sing, ye just in Jehovah. Confess Jehovah upon the harp; sing unto him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play excellently with a loud noise" (Psalms 33:1-3).

Because joy of heart arises from celestial and spiritual love, it is therefore said, "Sing, ye just in Jehovah; confess Jehovah upon the harp; sing unto him with an instrument of ten strings." Sing, ye just is predicated of those who are in celestial love; confess upon the harp and play upon the psaltery, of those who are in spiritual love. That they are called just who are in celestial love, may be seen above, n. 204, and that the harp and psaltery are predicated of those who are in spiritual good, n. 323. And because singing denotes confession from the joy arising from those loves, therefore it is said, "Confess Jehovah, sing unto him a new song." The exaltation of joy from its fulness is signified by play excellently with a loud noise.

[10] In the same:

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him by confession" (Psalms 69:30).

Again:

"When I shall have gone with them to the house of God with the voice of singing and confession; the multitude keeping holiday" (Psalms 42:4).

Again:

"Confess ye Jehovah; call upon his name. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him" (Psalms 105:1, 2; 149:1).

Again:

"I will confess Jehovah according to his justice; and I will sing unto the name of Jehovah most high" (Psalms 7:17).

Again:

"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is prepared; I will praise. Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp. I will confess thee, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing unto thee among the peoples" (Psalms 57:7-9).

Because to sing a song signifies confession from joy of heart, therefore in these passages two expressions are used, to confess and to sing, confession and a song, the voice of singing and of confession.

[11] Where the Lord's advent is treated of a new song is spoken of, and that the earth, the sea, the field, the forest, the trees, Lebanon, the wilderness, and many other things, should rejoice and exult, as in the following passages: In David:

"O sing unto Jehovah a new song. Make a loud noise unto Jehovah, all the earth; play, rejoice, and sing, with the harp and the voice of a song; with trumpets, and with the sound of the horn, make a loud noise before Jehovah the King. Let the sea and all the fulness thereof give forth a sound; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands; let the mountains be joyful together" (Psalms 98:1, 4-8).

Again:

"O sing unto Jehovah a new song; sing unto Jehovah, all the earth. Sing unto Jehovah, bless his name; make known his salvation from day to day. The heavens shall be glad and the earth shall rejoice; the sea shall be moved and all the fulness thereof; the field shall exult and all that is therein, then shall all the trees of the forest sing" (Psalms 96:1, 2, 11, 12).

Again:

"Sing unto Jehovah a new song, his praise in the congregation of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in his makers, the sons of Zion in their King. Let them praise his name in the dance; let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp" (Psalms 149:1-3).

In Isaiah:

"Sing unto Jehovah a new song; his praise, ye ends of the earth. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up the voice " (Isaiah 43:10, 11).

Again:

"Sing, O ye heavens, for Jehovah hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, forest, and every tree therein; for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and hath shown himself glorious in Israel" (44:23; 49:13).

The subjects treated of in these passages are the Lord, His advent, and salvation by Him; and because these things were about to take place, therefore a new song is mentioned; the joy thence arising is described not only by singing, playing, making a loud noise, being joyful, clapping the hands, but also by various musical instruments, which in sound are in agreement. So also that the rivers, the sea, the field, the forests, the trees therein, Lebanon, the wilderness, the mountains, and many other things, should rejoice, exult, be joyful, sing, clap the hands, and cry aloud together.

The reason why similar things are predicated of those objects is, because they signify such things as pertain to the church, and, consequently, such things as the man of the church possesses; the rivers, the things of intelligence; the sea, the things of science, which are in agreement with truths and goods; the field, the good of the church; forests, the truths of the natural man; the trees, knowledges; Lebanon, spiritual truth and good; the wilderness, the desire of truth that thence good may be attained; and the mountains, the goods of love. All these things are said to sing, to make a loud noise, to rejoice, to cry aloud and clap the hands, when they are from heaven, for then heavenly joy is in them, and thereby in man; for man is not in heavenly joy unless those things which he possesses, which are truths and goods, are from heaven, hence the joy of heart, which is truly joy, and the joy of the man with whom these things are. It is, consequently, evident why it is that the same is said of them as of man, namely, because joy is in them and thereby in man; such joy is in every spiritual and celestial good, and thence in those with whom those goods are; for heaven flows in with its joy, that is, the Lord through heaven, into the goods and the truths thence, which are from Him with man, and thereby into the man, and not into the man destitute of or without them. Those goods and the truths thence are what from influx out of heaven exult, rejoice, make a loud noise, sing, play, that is, are glad, and thence [affect] the heart of man.

[12] Because there are various affections of good and truth, and each expresses itself by an appropriate sound, therefore in the Word, especially in David, various kinds of instruments are mentioned, by which similar affections are signified. He who has become acquainted with the internal sense of the Word, and at the same time with the sounds of the instruments there named, may know the particular affection that is there signified and described; the angels know this from the mention of them alone, and at the same time from the thing described there in its own expressions, when one reads the Word. Thus, for example, in David:

"Clap your hands, all ye peoples; sing together unto God with the voice of a song; God is gone up with a shout, Jehovah with the voice of a trumpet; Sing unto God, sing unto our King, for God is the King of all the earth; sing ye with understanding" (Psalms 47:1, 5-7).

Again:

"They have seen thy goings, O God; the goings of my God. The singers went before, the players on instruments after, in the midst of the virgins playing with timbrels" (Psalms 68:24, 25).

Again:

"Shout unto God our strength; call unto the God of Jacob. Raise a song, and strike the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow the trumpet in the month" (Psalms 81:1-3).

Again:

"Praise God with the sound of the trumpet; with the psaltery and harp; with the timbrel and dance; with the lute and the organ, with the soft cymbals; and with the loud cymbals" (Psalms 150:1, 3-5).

All the instruments here mentioned signify affections, each its own, and this from the agreement of their sound; for it is the affections that produce the varieties of sounds with men, whence the affections are also known from the sounds, as said above in this article.

[13] To these observations I will add an Arcanum: the angels who in heaven constitute the Lord's celestial kingdom, draw the internal sense of the Word from the affection alone of a man when he reads the Word; this results also from the sound of the expressions in the original tongue. But the angels who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, draw the internal sense from the truths which the expressions contain; hence from the celestial kingdom, the man who is in spiritual affection has joy of heart; and from the spiritual kingdom, confession from that joy. The sounds of the musical instruments that are there mentioned, elevate the affection, and the truths from it. That this is so, those skilled in the art of music know. For this reason the Psalms of David are called psalms (psalmi) from playing (psallere), and also songs from singing; for they were played and sung with the sounds of various instruments. That they were called Psalms by David is known, because several of them are so inscribed. Those, however, that are called songs, are the following: Psalms 18:1; 33:1, 2; 45:1; 46:1; 48:1; 65:1; 66:1; 67:1; 68:1; 75:1; 76:1; [83:1;] 87:1; 88:1; 92:1; 96:1; 98:1; 108:1; 120:1; 121:1; 122:1; 123:1; 124:1 125:1; 126:1; 127:1; 128:1; 129:1; 130:1; 131:1; 132:1; 133:1; 134:1. Many other passages might be adduced from the Word respecting singing and a song, and it might be shown that they signify confessions from joy of heart; they are omitted because of their number; those adduced are sufficient.

脚注:

323. Having every one of them harps. That this signifies confession from spiritual truths, is evident from the signification of the harp, as denoting confession from spiritual truths. Harps, signify this because the harp was a stringed instrument, and such instruments signify spiritual things, or those of truth; whereas wind instruments signify celestial things, or those of good. Such things are signified by musical instruments, from the sounds, for sound corresponds to the affections, and from sounds also affections are perceived in heaven. And because there are various affections, and various sounds are uttered by musical instruments, therefore the latter, from correspondence, and thence agreement, signify the former. In general, stringed instruments signify such things as belong to the affections of truth, and wind instruments such as belong to the affections of good; or, what is the same thing, some instruments belong to the spiritual class, and some to the celestial class. That sounds correspond to affections, has been made clear to me from much experience, and also musical sounds, and that the angels are affected according to the sounds and their varieties; but to adduce all such experience would be tedious in this place. That only which has been generally observed, I desire to record, namely, that discrete sounds arouse the affections of truth, or that those who are in the affections of truth are affected by them; and that continuous sounds arouse the affections of good, or that those who are in affections of good are affected by them. Whether you say the affections of truth or spiritual things, it amounts to the same, or whether you say the affections of good or celestial things, it is also the same. But these things can be better comprehended from what has been said from experience concerning sounds and their correspondence with the affections, in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 241. From these considerations it is now evident, why, in the Word, and chiefly in David, so many kinds of musical instruments are mentioned, as psalteries, harps, flutes, cymbals, timbrels, horns, organs, and others, namely, that it is on account of correspondence with the affections, and at the same time with the articulations, which are expressions that contain things, and flow therefrom.

[2] That especially harps signify the affections of truth, because they arouse them, consequently also the confession which is made from spiritual truths with a merry heart, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

"The new wine shall mourn, the vine shall languish, all the merry-hearted shall sigh. The joy of timbrels shall cease, the noise of the merry shall cease; the joy of the harp shall cease. They shall not drink wine with a song" (24:7, 8, 9).

The subject here treated of is the vastation of the spiritual church, or the good and truth thereof. Spiritual good that would cease, is signified by, the new wine shall mourn and the joy of timbrels shall cease; and that its truth would cease, is signified by, the vine shall languish, and the joy of the harp shall cease; for by new wine is signified spiritual good, and its joy by the timbrel; and by the vine is signified spiritual truth, and its joy by the harp. Because it is the affection of those things which would cease, it is therefore said, "All the merry-hearted shall sigh, the noise of the merry shall cease." By gladness and mirth in the Word are signified spiritual gladness and mirth, all of which are from the affections of truth and good. It is added, they shall not drink wine with a song, because by a song is signified testification of gladness from the affection of truth, and by wine is signified truth.

[3] In David:

"Confess unto Jehovah upon the harp; sing unto him upon a psaltery of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play excellently with a loud noise. For the Word of Jehovah is right; and all his work [is done] in truth" (Psalms 33:2, 3, 4).

Because the harp signifies confession from spiritual truths, it is therefore said, Confess unto Jehovah upon the harp. A psaltery of ten strings signifies corresponding spiritual good; therefore it is said, Sing unto him upon a psaltery of ten strings; and on this account also it is said, For the Word of Jehovah is right, and all his work [is done] in truth, the truth of good being signified by, the Word of Jehovah is right, and the good of truth by, all His work is done in truth; the truth of good is the truth which proceeds from good, and the good of truth is the good which is produced by truth.

[4] In the same:

"Send thy light and thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto the mountain of thy holiness, and to thy habitations, that I may confess unto thee upon the harp, O God, my God" (Psalms 43:3, 4).

That the harp signifies confession from spiritual truths is evident, for it is said, "I will confess unto thee upon the harp, O God, my God; and it is also premised, send "Thy light and thy truth; let them lead me."

[5] In the same:

"I will confess unto thee upon the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God; unto thee will I sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel" (Psalms 71:22).

Because by the psaltery is signified spiritual good or the good of truth, and by the harp spiritual truth or the truth of good, and confession is made from each, therefore it is said, "I will confess unto thee upon the psaltery; unto thee will I sing with the harp."

[6] In the same:

"I will sing and play. Awake me my glory, awake me, psaltery and harp. I will confess unto thee, O Lord, among the nations, I will praise thee among the peoples" (Psalms 57:8, 9; 108:2, 3).

Confession and glorification from the good of truth or from spiritual good, and from the truth of good or from spiritual truth, are expressed in the particulars of this passage. The good of truth is expressed by singing, by being awaked by the psaltery, and by praising among the nations; and the truth of good by praising, by being awaked by the harp, and by praising among the peoples; for nations in the Word mean those who are in good, and peoples those who are in truth; in this case those who are in spiritual truth. It is so said, because where good is treated of in the Word, truth also is treated of, and this on account of their marriage in the particulars thereof (concerning which see above, n. 238, at end, 288).

[7] In the same:

"Answer unto Jehovah with confession; sing praise upon the harp unto our God" (Psalms 147:7).

Here also confession from spiritual good and from spiritual truth is expressed by answering unto Jehovah with confession, and by playing upon the harp unto our God; from spiritual good, by answering unto Jehovah; and from spiritual truth, by playing upon the harp unto God. Jehovah is also mentioned where the subject treated of is concerning good, and God where it is treated concerning truth. (As may be seen, n. 709, 732, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921, 4287, 4402, 7010, 9167.)

[8] In Ezekiel:

"And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. And I will give thee to the dryness of the rock" (26:13, 14).

This is said respecting Tyre, by which is signified the church as to the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth. Its vastation is described by these words; vastation as to knowledges of good by, I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and vastation as to knowledges of truth by, "The sound of harps shall be no more heard"; the desolation of all truth by, "I will give thee to the dryness of the rock"; a rock signifying truth, and its dryness desolation.

[9] In David:

"Make a loud noise unto Jehovah, all the earth; resound, rejoice, and sing. Sing unto Jehovah with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a song. With trumpets and the sound of a horn, make a loud noise before Jehovah, the King" (Psalms 98:4-6).

The various kinds of affections from which confession and glorification of the Lord are made, are here expressed by the various kinds of sounds and instruments; by the various kinds of sounds, by making a loud noise, resounding, rejoicing, and singing; and by the various kinds of instruments, by harps, trumpets, and horns; but to expound the signification of each does not belong to this place, only what relates to the harp. To "Sing unto Jehovah with the harp, with the harp and the voice of a song," signifies confession from the affection of spiritual good and truth; for every affection, because it belongs to love, when it falls into sound, sounds agreeably to itself; whence also from the sound that is in speech, and in which the expressions of speech flow, as it were, the affection of another is heard, which also is thence known to an associate, and manifestly in the spiritual world, where all sounds of the speech indicate the affections.

[10] Also elsewhere in David, as the following passages:

"Rejoice in God our strength; cry aloud unto the God of Jacob. Lift up the song and strike the timbrel, the pleasant harp, with the psaltery. Blow the horn at the new moon, at the time appointed, on the day of our solemn festival" (Psalms 81:1, 2, 3).

"[It is] good to confess unto Jehovah, and to sing unto thy name, O Most High; upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery upon the harp with a solemn sound" (Psalms 92:1, 3).

"Let the sons of Zion exult in their King; let them praise his name in the dance; let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp" (Psalms 149:2, 3).

"Praise God with the sound of the horn; praise him with the psaltery and harp; praise him with the timbrel and dance; praise him with the stringed instruments and the organ. Praise him with cymbals of soft sound; praise him with cymbals of loud sound" (Psalms 150:3-5).

[11] Because musical instruments and also dances signify joys and gladnesses, which spring from the affections, and also the affections of the mind themselves, which their sounds produce both in what is simple and in what is compound, therefore

"David and the whole house of Israel played before Jehovah upon wooden instruments of every kind, and upon harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals" (2 Sam. 6:5).

[12] Because the harp signifies confession from spiritual truths; and spiritual truths are those by which the angels who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom are affected, and which dissipate the falsities of evil, and with them the spirits themselves who are in them, therefore,

When the evil spirit was upon Saul, "David took a harp, and played with his hand; and thus rest was given to Saul, and the evil spirit departed from him" (1 Sam. 16:23).

This was done because kings represented the Lord as to the spiritual kingdom, and thence signified spiritual truths (as may been seen, n. 31); but Saul then represented the falsities opposed to those truths, - falsities that were dissipated by the sound of the harp, because the harp signified the spiritual affection of truth. This circumstance took place at that time, because with the sons of Israel all things were representative, and thence significative; it is otherwise at this day. From the passages which have now been adduced, it is clear what the harp signifies, besides also in other places (as Isaiah 30:31, 32; Psalms 49:3, 4; Psalms 137:1, 2; 1 Sam. 10:5; Rev. 14:2; 18:22; Job 30:31).

[13] Because most things in the Word also signify the opposite, so also do musical instruments, in which sense they signify gladnesses and joys springing from the affections of falsity and evil; thus the harp also [signifies] the confession of falsity, and thence exultation over the destruction of truth. As in Isaiah:

"At the end of seventy years the song of Tyre shall be even as the song of a harlot; take the harp, walk in the city, thou harlot delivered to forgetfulness; play elegantly, increase the singing" (23:15, 16).

By Tyre is signified the church as to the cognitions of spiritual truth and good, as was said above, in this case the church in which these are falsified; a harlot signifies the falsification of truth (as may be seen above, n. 141); and by taking a harp, walking about the city, playing elegantly, and increasing the singing, is signified the exultation and boasting of falsity over the destruction of truth.

[14] And in the same:

"Woe to them that rise in the morning at dawn that they may follow strong drink; to them that tarry until twilight, till wine inflame him. And the harp, and the psaltery, and the timbrel, and pipe, and wine are at their feasts; but the), do not examine the work of Jehovah, and see not the operation of his hands" (5:11, 12).

Here the harp, the psaltery, the timbrel, the pipe, and also wine, are meant in the opposite sense, in which they signify exultations and boastings from the falsities of evil. That such things are signified, is evident, for it is said, Woe to them; they do not examine the work of Jehovah, and they see not the operation of his hands.