5201. And they fed in the sedge. That this signifies instruction, is evident from the signification of “feeding” (that is, “pasturing”) as being to be instructed (of which hereafter); and from the signification of “sedge,” or the larger grass that grows near rivers, as being the memory-knowledges of the natural man. That “grass” or “herbage” denotes these knowledges is clear from the Word. To “feed in the sedge” therefore, is to be instructed in memory-knowledges, and by means of these knowledges to learn about truths and good; for memory-knowledges are means, and as it were mirrors, in which an image of interior things shows itself; and in this image, as again in a mirror, are reflected and represented the truths and goods of faith, and consequently the things which are of heaven and are called spiritual; but this image, being more interior, does not appear to any but those who are in faith from charity. This is what is signified in the genuine sense by “feeding in the sedge.”

[2] That “to feed” denotes to be instructed is plain from those places in the Word where we read of it, as in Isaiah:

Then shall He give the rain of thy seed, wherewith thou sowest the land, and bread of the increase of the land, and it shall be fat and rich; in that day shall thy cattle feed in a broad meadow (Isaiah 30:23); where “cattle” denote those who are in good and truth; “feeding in a broad meadow” denotes being abundantly instructed.

[3] In the same:

I have given Thee for a covenant of the people, to restore the land, to distribute the wasted heritages, to say to the bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Be ye revealed. They shall feed upon the ways, and on all hillsides shall be their pasture (Isaiah 49:8-9);

this is said of the coming of the Lord, “feeding upon the ways” denotes being instructed in truths (that “ways” are truths see above, n. 627, 2333); “pasture” denotes the instruction itself.

In Jeremiah:

Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the flock of My pasture! Therefore hath said Jehovah the God of Israel against the shepherds that feed My people (Jeremiah 23:1-2);

“shepherds” denote those who instruct, and the “flock” those who are instructed (n. 343, 3795); thus “feeding” denotes instructing.

[4] As it has become customary to call teachers “pastors,” and learners a “flock,” it has also become common to speak of “feeding” when speaking of preaching, or of instruction from doctrine from the Word; but this is done by way of comparison, and not from the signification, as in the Word. The reason why “feeding” is spoken of in the Word from its signification, is that when instruction or doctrine from the Word is spoken of in heaven, then in the world of spirits, where spiritual things appear naturally, there are represented to the sight meadows green with grass, herbage, and flowers, with flocks therein; and this with all variety, according to what is being said in heaven about instruction and doctrine.

[5] In the same:

I will bring back Israel to his habitation, that he may feed on Carmel and Bashan; and his soul shall be sated upon the mountain of Ephraim and in Gilead (Jeremiah 50:19);

“to feed on Carmel and Bashan” denotes to be instructed in the goods of faith and of charity. Again:

From the daughter of Zion all her honor is gone forth, her princes are become like harts, they have not found pasture (Lam. 1:6).

In Ezekiel:

I will feed them in a good pasture, and on the mountains of the height of Israel shall their fold be, and they shall lie down in a good fold, and on fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 34:14).

[6] In Hosea:

Now will Jehovah feed them as a sheep in the breadth (Hos. 4:16);

“to feed them in the breadth” denotes to instruct in truths. (That “breadth” is truth may be seen above, n. 1613, 3433, 3434, 4482.) In Micah:

Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, out of thee shall He come forth unto Me who shall be ruler in Israel. He shall stand and shall feed in the strength of Jehovah (Micah 5:2, 4).

Again:

Feed Thy people with Thy rod, the flock of Thy heritage dwelling alone, let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of an age (Micah 7:14).

In Zephaniah:

The remains of Israel shall feed and be at rest, none making afraid (Zeph. 3:13).

[7] In David:

Jehovah is my shepherd, in pastures of herb He will make me lie down, to the waters of rest He will lead me (Psalms 23:1-2

Again:

It is He that hath made us, and not we, His people, and the flock of His pastures; (or according to another reading) therefore we are His, His people, and the flock of His pasture (Psalms 100:3).

In Revelation:

The Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters (Revelation 7:17).

In John:

I am the door; by Me if anyone enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture (John 10:9).

Again:

Jesus said to Peter, Feed My lambs; and a second time, Feed My sheep; and a third time, Feed My sheep (John 21:15-17).

2724. And called there on the name of the God of eternity. That this signifies worship therefrom, is evident from the signification of “calling upon the name of God,” as being worship (see n. 440). They who were of the Ancient Church did not by a name understand the name, but all the quality (see n. 144-145, 440, 768, 1754, 1896, 2009); and thus by the “name of God” all that in one complex by which God was worshiped, consequently everything of love and faith; but when the internal of worship perished, and only the external remained, they then began to understand by the name of God nothing else than the name, so much so that they worshiped the name itself, feeling no care about the love and the faith from which they worshiped. On this account the nations began to distinguish themselves by the names of their gods; and the Jews and Israelites set themselves up above the rest, because they worshiped Jehovah, placing the essential of worship in uttering the name and invoking it, when in truth the worship of a name only is no worship, and may also be found among the worst of men, who thereby profane the more.

[2] But as by the “name of God” everything of worship is signified, that is, everything of love and faith from which He is worshiped, it is therefore evident what is meant by “hallowed be Thy Name,” in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9); also by what the Lord said:

Ye shall be hated for My name’s sake (Matthew 10:22).

If two shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in the heavens; for where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:19-20).

Everyone that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29).

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matthew 21:9).

Jesus said, Ye shall not see Me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matthew 23:39).

Ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake; and then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another (Matthew 24:9-10).

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on His name (John 1:12).

He that believeth not is judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18).

Jesus said, Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do (John 14:14-15; 15:16; 16:23-24, 26-27).

Jesus said, I have manifested Thy name unto the men (John 17:6).

Holy Father, keep them in Thy name whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are (John 17:11-12).

I have made known unto them Thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:26).

That ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in His name (John 20:31).

Besides very many passages in the Old Testament, in which by the “name” of Jehovah and of God the name is not meant, but everything of love and faith from which is worship.

[3] But they who worship a name only, without love and faith, are thus spoken of in Matthew:

Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied by Thy name, and by Thy name have cast out demons, and in Thy name done many mighty works? But I will confess unto them, I know you not; depart from Me ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:22-23).

When as before said the men of the church became external, from being internal, and began to place worship in a name alone, they then no longer acknowledged one God, but many. For it was a common thing for the ancients to add something to the name of Jehovah, and thereby call to mind some benefit or attribute of His, as in the passage before us, “he called upon the name of the God of eternity;” and in the following chapter (22), “Abraham called the name of that place, Jehovah-jireh,” that is, “Jehovah shall see” (verse 14). “Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi,” that is, “Jehovah my banner” (Exodus 17:15); “Gideon built an altar there unto Jehovah, and called it Jehovah-shalom” that is, “Jehovah of peace” (Judges 6:24); besides other places. From this it came to pass that they who placed worship in a name only, acknowledged so many gods; and also that among the Gentiles, especially in Greece and at Rome, so many gods were acknowledged and worshiped; whereas the Ancient Church, from which the epithets emanated, never worshiped but one God, reverenced under so many names, because by the “name” they understood the quality.