224. Mercy, peace, and all good, which are 'the face of Jehovah', are the cause of the dictate present with people who have perception. They are also the cause, though in a different way, of the dictate present with people who have conscience. And they always operate with mercy, but they are received according to the state which the individual is experiencing. The state of this man, that is, of this generation of the descendants of the Most Ancient Church, was natural good. And people who are in possession of natural good are of such a nature that they hide out of fear and shame at being naked. But people who are not in possession of natural good do not even hide, because they have no sense of shame. These are referred to in Jeremiah 8:12-13. See what has been said already in 217.