295. And by thy will they are, and were created. That this signifies that by means of the Divine good they are, and by means of the Divine truth they exist, is evident from the signification of will, when said of the Lord, as being Divine love; and from the signification of are, or being (esse), as being the good of love, in this case, the Divine good of the Divine love received (concerning which we shall speak presently); and from the signification of they were created, or being created, as being the Divine truth also received, thus those who are reformed by it. The reason why to be created signifies to exist is that those alone are said to exist who are reformed, for in them is life, and they have intelligence and wisdom; whereas those who are not reformed have not life in them but spiritual death, neither have they intelligence and wisdom, but insanity and folly, hence they cannot be said to exist. Everything which appears to any of the senses may indeed be said to exist, but it cannot be said of man spiritually, unless he be in good and truth; for man was created that he might be alive, intelligent and wise; consequently, when he is dead, he is insane and foolish, and so far as this is the case with him, he does not exist. There are two things which constitute man, namely good and truth, and both are from the Lord; good is the being (esse) of life, but truth is the manifestation (existere) of life therefrom, for all truth exists from good, because it is the form of good, and hence the quality of good; and whereas good is the being (esse) of life, and truth is the manifestation (existere) of life therefrom, and by being created is signified to exist, it is therefore said, "by thy will they are, and were created." This, then, is the spiritual content of these words.

[2] The reason why will, when said of the Lord, denotes Divine love is, that the essential Divine, from which all things exist, is the Divine love; hence the Lord appears before the angels as a Sun, fiery and flaming, the ground and reason of which is, that love, in the spiritual world, appears as fire; this is why fire in the Word, when said of the Lord, of heaven, or of the church, signifies love. From that Sun in the heavens proceed heat and light; and the heat there is Divine good proceeding, and the light is Divine truth proceeding. (These things are more fully shown in the work, Heaven and Hell, concerning the Sun of heaven, n. 116-125; and concerning heat and light in heaven, n. 126-140). And because the essential Divine from which all things exist is Divine love, therefore will also, when said of the Lord, denotes Divine love, for what love itself wills is the good of love; the truth which is called the truth of faith being only a means that good may exist, and that the truth of faith may afterwards exist from good. From this origin man possesses will and understanding; the will is the receptacle of the good of love with him, and the understanding is the receptacle of the truth of faith with him; the understanding is the means by which the will may be reformed, and by which afterwards the will may appear in form, such as it is by means of the understanding. Hence also it is evident that the will is the being (esse) of man's life, and the understanding is the manifestation (existere) of life therefrom. (But these things may also be seen more fully shown in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, where the will and understanding are treated of, n.28-35).

[3] Because the will of man is his love, and the will of God is the Divine love, it is plain what is meant in the spiritual sense by doing the will of God, and the will of the Father, viz., that it is to love God above all things and the neighbour as oneself. And because to love is to will, so also it is to do, for what a man loves that he wills, and what he wills he also does. Hence, by doing the will of God, or of the Father is meant to do His precepts, or to live according to them, from the affection of love or charity.

This is what is meant by the will of God and of the Father in the following passages.

In John:

"God heareth not sinners; but if any man worshippeth God, and doeth his will, him he heareth" (9:31).

In Matthew (that he who does the will of the Father who is in the heavens, shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens):

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in the heavens" (7:21).

Again:

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven so upon the earth" (6:10).

And again:

"It is not the will of the Father that one of the little ones should perish" (18:14).

That it's not being His will that one of the little ones should perish, denotes love, is evident. It is said "The will of your Father" because the Father denotes the Divine good. In John:

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (15:7),

The reason why it is said that whatsoever they should will and ask, should be done to those who abide in the Lord, and in whom His words abide, is that in such case they will nothing but what the Lord gives them to will, and this is good, and good is from Himself.

[4] The will of the Lord is called His good pleasure in the Old Testament, and in like manner signifies the Divine love; and to do His good pleasure, or His will, signifies to love God and the neighbour, thus to live according to the Lord's precepts, because this is to love God and the neighbour. And this also descends from the Lord's love; for no one can love the Lord and the neighbour, except from the Lord, for this is the very essential good pertaining to man, and all good is from the Lord. That good pleasure has this signification is clear from the following passages. In Isaiah:

"In mine anger I smote thee, but in my good pleasure have I had mercy on thee" (60:10).

By smiting in anger is signified temptation; and by having mercy in good pleasure is signified deliverance, from love (having mercy, is doing good to the needy from love).

[5] In David:

"My prayer is unto thee, O Jehovah, in the time of thy good pleasure; O God, in the greatness of thy mercy answer me, in the truth of thy salvation" (Psalms 69:13).

The time of the good pleasure of Jehovah signifies acceptance from love; time signifies the existing state when said of men, but perpetually existing when said of Jehovah, thus His love, because this is perpetual. Hearing and help springing from love by the proceeding Divine which is Divine truth is signified by in the greatness of thy mercy answer me, in the truth of thy salvation.

[6] In Isaiah:

"Jehovah said, In the time of good pleasure have I heard thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee" (49:8).

By the time of good pleasure, or will, also here is signified the Divine love; and to answer signifies to bring aid, and to benefit.

[7] In the same:

"To proclaim the year of the good pleasure of Jehovah, to comfort all that mourn" (61:2).

Here the subject is the advent of the Lord, and by the year of his good pleasure is signified the time and state of the members of the church, when they must be aided from love; therefore it is also said, to comfort all that mourn.

[8] In David:

"Thou wilt bless the just; with good pleasure wilt thou compass him as with a shield" (Psalms 5:12).

Here good pleasure manifestly means the Divine love, from which the Lord protects every one; His protection from love is signified by, thou wilt compass him as with a shield.

[9] Again:

Jehovah "opening his hand and satisfying every living thing with good pleasure" (Psalms 145:16).

Here by opening the hand is signified to gift with good; and by satisfying every living thing with good pleasure is signified, from love to enrich with Divine truth all who receive life from Him.

[10] In Moses:

"Of the precious things of the earth and of the fulness thereof, and for the good pleasure of him who dwelleth in the bush, let them come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of the Nazarite of his brethren; of Naphtali, satisfied with the good of pleasure and the blessing of Jehovah " (Deuteronomy 33:16, 23).

By Joseph, in the highest sense, is signified the Lord as to the spiritual Divine, in the internal sense the spiritual kingdom, and, in the external sense, salvation, fructification of good and multiplication of truth (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417). Hence it is evident what is signified by the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, and the good pleasure of him that dwelleth in the bush, belonging to Joseph. The precious things of the earth denote the spiritual goods and truths pertaining to the church, the earth denoting the church; the good pleasure of him that dwelleth in the bush is the Lord's Divine love of truth, the bush in which the Lord also appeared before Moses signifies that Divine love. The head of Joseph signifies the wisdom pertaining to the internal man, and the crown of the head of the Nazarite of his brethren signifies the intelligence and knowledge (scientia) belonging to the external man. Naphtali, so called from strugglings, signifies temptations, and consolation and benediction from the Divine love after them, which are meant by being satisfied with the good pleasure and the blessing of Jehovah.

[11] In Isaiah:

"Wilt thou call this a fast, and a day of the good pleasure of Jehovah? Is it not to break thy bread to the hungry, and when thou seest the naked that thou cover him?" (58:5, 7).

That by the good pleasure of Jehovah, when said of men, is signified to live according to His precepts, which is to love God and the neighbour (as said above), is evident; for it is said that His good pleasure is that they should break their bread to the hungry and cover the naked. By breaking bread to the hungry is signified from love to do good to the neighbour who desires good; and by covering the naked is signified to instruct in truths him who desires to be instructed.

[12] In David:

"I have desired to do thy good pleasure (or thy will), my God, and thy law is in my bowels" (Psalms 40:8).

Again:

"Teach me to do thy good pleasure; let thy good spirit lead me in the land of uprightness" (Psalms 143:10).

And again:

"Bless ye Jehovah, all ye his hosts; ye his ministers who do his good pleasure" (Psalms 103:21).

To do the good pleasure of Jehovah God signifies to live according to His precepts; this is His good pleasure, or will, because from Divine love He wills that all may be saved, and by this they are saved. The word good pleasure, in the Hebrew tongue, also signifies will; for whatever is done according to the will is well pleasing, and the Divine love wills no other than that the love which is from Himself may be with angels and men, and His love is with them, when they love to live according to His precepts. That this is to love the Lord, He himself teaches in John (14:15, 21, 23, 24; 15:10, 14; 21:15, 16).

[13] That will signifies love in the opposite sense, namely, the love of evil and the love of falsity, is evident in John:

As many as received Jesus, "to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe in his name; who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (1:12, 13).

To believe in the name of the Lord signifies to live according to the precepts of His doctrine. (That the name of the Lord signifies all those things by which He is worshipped, consequently all those things that appertain to love and faith, may be seen above, n. 102, 135.) Who are not [born] of bloods signifies those who are not in a life contrary to good and truth; nor of the will of the flesh signifies those who are not in the love of evil; who are not [born] of the will of man (vir) signifies those who are not in the love of falsity. (That flesh, when said of man, denotes his voluntary proprium, consequently evil, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 148, 149, 780, 999, 3813, 8409, 10283; and that man (vir) denotes the intellectual proprium of man, which is falsity, may be seen, n. 4823).

801. This description of these people before the Flood shows the nature of the style used by the most ancient people, and consequently of the prophetical style. From here down to the end of this chapter these people are described, in the present verses as regards their persuasions, and in verse 23 that follows as regards their desires. That is, they are described as regards the state of the things of their understanding, and after that as regards the state of those of their will. Although the proper things of the understanding and of the will did not exist in them, the things in them that were the reverse of these must nevertheless be called things of the understanding and will. Though in no sense things of the understanding, persuasions of falsity must be called such because they are matters of thought and reasoning; and the same applies to desires which are in no sense things of the will. Those people are described, as I say, first of all as regards their persuasions of falsity, and after that as regards their desires. This is the reason why verse 23 which follows repeats, though in a different order, the things referred to in this verse 21.

[2] Such also is the prophetical style, the reason being that there are two kinds of life with man - the first belonging to things of the understanding, the second to those of the will - which are very distinct and separate from each other. Man is composed of both, and although they are separated in man nowadays, they still flow one into the other and for the most part unite. The fact that they unite, and how they do so, could be established and illustrated in many ways. Since man is therefore composed of these two parts - understanding and will - and one flows into the other, the Word when describing man describes each part separately, which is the reason for repetitions; otherwise the description would be defective. As with the will and understanding here, so with everything else. It is their subjects that make things exactly what they are. Being the product of their subjects, they are attributes of those subjects. Things separated from their subject, that is, from their substance, are not anything. This is the reason why when the Word describes something it does so as regards both areas. In this way the description of everything is made complete.