1947. Because Jehovah hath hearkened to thine affliction. That this signifies while it was submitting itself, is evident from what was said above (n. 1937), in that to “humble and afflict oneself” denotes to submit to the sovereign control of the internal man, which submission was there treated of, and it is shown that this is to compel oneself; also that in compelling oneself there is freedom, that is, what is spontaneous and voluntary, by which compelling oneself is distinguished from being compelled. It was also shown that without this freedom, that is, spontaneity or willingness, man cannot possibly be reformed and receive any heavenly Own; and further that there is more of freedom in temptations than out of them, although the contrary appears to be the case, for the freedom is then stronger in proportion to the assaults of evils and falsities, and is strengthened by the Lord in order that a heavenly Own may be conferred upon the man; and for this reason the Lord is more present with us while we are in temptations. It was shown further that the Lord never compels anyone; for he who is compelled to think what is true and do what is good is not reformed, but thinks falsity and wills evil all the more. All compulsion has this effect, as we may see from the records and examples of life, for from them we know these two things: that consciences do not suffer themselves to be compelled, and that we strive after what is forbidden. Moreover everyone desires to pass from non-freedom into freedom, for this belongs to man’s life.

[2] Hence it is evident that anything which is not from freedom, that is, which is not from what is spontaneous or voluntary, is not acceptable to the Lord; for when anyone worships the Lord from what is not free, he worships from nothing that is his own, and in this case it is the external which moves, that is, which is moved, from being compelled, while the internal is null, or resistant, or is even contradictory to it. While man is being regenerated, he, from the freedom with which he is gifted by the Lord, exercises self-compulsion, and humbles and even afflicts his rational, in order that it may submit itself, and thereby he receives a heavenly Own, which is afterwards gradually perfected by the Lord, and is made more and more free, so that it becomes the affection of good and thence of truth, and has delight, and in both the freedom and the delight there is happiness like that of angels. This freedom is what the Lord speaks of in John:

The truth shall make ¹ you free; if the Son makes you free, you shall be ¹ free indeed (John 8:32, 36).

[3] The nature of this freedom is utterly unknown to those who do not possess conscience, for they make freedom consist in doing as they please and in the license of thinking and speaking what is false, of willing and doing what is evil, and of not compelling and humbling, still less of afflicting such desires; when yet the very reverse is the case, as the Lord also teaches in the same gospel:

Everyone that committeth sin is the servant of sin (John 8:34).

This slavish freedom they receive from the infernal spirits who are with them and who infuse it, and when they are in the life of these spirits they are also in their loves and cupidities, and an impure and excrementitious delight breathes upon them, and when they are being as it were carried away by the torrent, they suppose themselves to be in freedom, but it is infernal freedom. The difference between this infernal freedom and heavenly freedom is that the one is that of death, and drags them down to hell, while the other, or heavenly freedom, is of life and uplifts them to heaven.

[4] That all true internal worship comes from freedom, and none from compulsion, and that if worship is not from freedom it is not internal worship, is evident from the Word, as from the sacrifices that were freewill offerings or vows, or offerings of peace or of thanksgiving; which were called “gifts” and “offerings” (concerning which see Numbers 15:3, etc.; Deuteronomy 12:6; 16:10-11; 23:23-24). So in David:

With a free-will offering will I sacrifice unto Thee; I will confess to Thy name, O Jehovah, for it is good (Psalms 54:6).

So again from the contribution or collection which they were to make for the Tabernacle, and for the garments of holiness, spoken of in Moses:

Speak unto the sons of Israel, and let them take for Me an offering; from every man whom his heart impels willingly ye shall take My offering (Exodus 25:2).

And again:

Whosoever is of a willing heart let him bring it, Jehovah’s offering (Exodus 35:5).

[5] Moreover the humiliation of the rational man, or its affliction (from freedom, as before said), was also represented by the affliction of souls on days of solemnity, as mentioned in Moses:

It shall be a statute of eternity unto you; in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, ye shall afflict your souls (Leviticus 16:29).

And again:

On the tenth of the seventh month, this is the day of expiations; there shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; every soul that shall not have afflicted itself in that same day, shall be cut off from his peoples (Leviticus 23:27, 29).

It was for this reason that the unleavened bread, in which there was nothing fermented, is called the “bread of affliction” (Deuteronomy 16:2-3).

[6] “Affliction” is thus spoken of in David:

Jehovah, who shall sojourn in Thy tent? who shall dwell in the mountain of Thy holiness? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness; he that sweareth to afflict himself, and changeth not (Psalms 15:1-2, 4).

That “affliction” denotes the mastering and subjugation of the evils and falsities that rise up from the external man into the rational, may be seen from what has been said. Thus “affliction” does not mean that we should plunge ourselves into poverty and wretchedness, or that we should renounce all bodily delights, for in this way evil is not mastered and subjugated; and moreover some other evil may be aroused, namely, a sense of merit on account of the renunciation; and besides, man’s freedom suffers, in which alone, as in ground, the good and truth of faith can be inseminated. (Concerning “affliction” as denoting also temptation, see above, n. 1846.)

Imibhalo yaphansi:

9096. And his master hath not watched him. That this signifies and if he hath not kept it in bonds, is evident from the signification of “to watch,” as being to keep in bonds, namely, the affection of evil in the natural, which otherwise would injure the truth of faith. That it signifies to keep in bonds, is because by “becoming known” is signified to pass into the intellectual (see n. 9095), and the intellectual is that which sees evil, and that which is seen can be restrained and kept in bonds; not by the intellectual, but through the intellectual by the Lord. For the Lord flows into those things in man which are known to him, but not into those things which are unknown to him. By “keeping in bonds” is meant to prevent, and to restrain. In the spiritual sense bonds are nothing else than the affections of love, for these are what lead man, and what restrain him. If the affections of evil lead him, there must be affections of truth from good to restrain him. Internal bonds in man are affections of truth and of good. These are also called the “bonds of conscience.” But external bonds are the affections of the love of self and of the love of the world, for these lead man in external things. If the latter affections descend from internal bonds, which are affections of truth and of good, they are good, for then the man loves himself and the world not for the sake of self and the world, but for the sake of good uses from himself and the world (n. 7819, 7820, 8995). But if the affections of the love of self and of the love of the world do not descend from internal bonds, the affections are evil, and are called “cupidities;” for then the man loves himself for the sake of himself, and the world for the sake of the world.

[2] From all this it can be known what is meant by internal bonds, and by external bonds, of which frequent mention has been made. But bonds so called are not bonds except relatively to their opposites; for he who does anything from the affection which is of the love of good, acts from freedom; but he who acts from the affection which is of the love of evil seems to himself to act from freedom, but does not act from freedom, because he acts from cupidities that are from hell. He only is free who is in the affection of good, because he is led by the Lord. This the Lord also teaches in John:

If ye abide in My word, ye are truly My disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Everyone that committeth sin is the servant of sin. If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:31-32, 34, 36).

That it is freedom to be led by the Lord, and servitude to be led by cupidities which are from hell, see n. 892, 905, 2870-2893, 6205, 6477, 8209; for the Lord implants affections for good, and aversion for evil. From this the man has freedom in doing good, and utter servitude in doing evil. He who believes that Christian liberty extends itself further is very greatly in error.