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Psalms 104

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1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.

8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.

11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.

12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.

19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.

23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.

29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.

35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

   

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Apocalypse Explained #274

Funda lesi Sigaba

  
Yiya esigabeni / 1232  
  

274. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. That this signifies Divine truth itself united to the Divine good proceeding from the Divine love of the Lord is evident from the signification of seven as denoting, all things in the aggregate; and from the signification of lamps of fire burning before the throne as denoting Divine truth united to Divine good proceeding from the Divine love of the Lord. For lamps signify truths; hence seven lamps signify all truth in the aggregate, which is Divine truth; and fire signifies the good of love. And because the lamps were seen burning before the throne upon which the Lord was, it is signified that the good or love was from the Lord. Because the seven spirits of God signify all the truths of heaven and the church from the Lord, as may be seen above (n. 183), it is therefore said, "which are the seven spirits of God." (That seven signify all, may be seen above, n. 256; that fire signifies the good of love may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 10055.)

[2] That lamps signify truths, which are called truths of faith, is evident from the following passages in the Word, as in David:

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalms 119:105).

The Word is said to be a lamp, because it is Divine truth. Again:

"Thou lightest my lamp; Jehovah God maketh my darkness resplendent" (Psalms 18:28).

To light a lamp signifies to enlighten the understanding by Divine truth; and to make the darkness resplendent signifies to dissipate the falsities of ignorance by the light of truth. In Luke:

"Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps shining" (12:35).

The loins being girded signifies the good of love (see Arcana Coelestia 3021, 4280, 4462, 5050-5052, 9961); and the lamps shining signifies the truths of faith from the good of love.

[3] In Matthew:

"The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness" (6:22, 23).

The eye is here called a lamp, because it signifies the understanding of truth, and hence also the truth of faith; and because the understanding derives its all from the will - for the quality of the former is according to that of the latter, just as the truth of faith derives its all from the good of love, - when therefore, the understanding of truth is from the good of the will, then the whole man is spiritual, which is signified by the words, "If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." But the contrary is the case when the understanding is formed from evil of the will; that it is then in mere falsities is signified by the words, "if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (That the eye signifies the understanding may be seen above, n. 152, and that darkness signifies falsities, in Arcana Coelestia 1839, 1860, 3340, 4418, 4531, 7688, 7711, 7712). He who does not know that the eye signifies the understanding cannot by any means comprehend the meaning of these words.

[4] In Jeremiah:

"I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of the millstones and the light of the lamp" (25:10).

To take away the voice of joy and the voice of gladness signifies to remove the interior happiness derived from the good of love and the truths of faith. To take away the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride signifies to remove all the conjunction of good and truth, which constitutes heaven and the church with man. To take away the voice of the millstones and the light of the lamp signifies to deprive them of the doctrine of charity and faith. (What is signified by a millstone, and by grinding, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 4335, 7780, 9995, 10303). Similarly in the Apocalypse:

"And the light of a lamp shall shine no more in" Babylon; "and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more" there (18:23).

In Isaiah:

"Let your salvation burn as a lamp" (62:1),

signifying that the truth of faith should be from the good of love.

In Matthew:

"The kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. The five foolish took their lamps, but no oil: but the five wise took oil also." Wherefore when the bridegroom came the wise went in to the marriage, but the foolish were not admitted (25:1-12).

By lamps are here signified the truths of faith, and by oil is signified the good of love. (What the rest of this parable signifies may be seen above, n. 252, where it is particularly explained.)

  
Yiya esigabeni / 1232  
  

Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia #1839

Funda lesi Sigaba

  
Yiya esigabeni / 10837  
  

1839. That 'behold, a dread of great darkness was coming over him' means that it was a dreadful darkness, 'darkness' being falsities, is clear from the meaning of 'darkness' as falsities, to be dealt with immediately below. The state of the Church just before the close, or when the sun was going down, is described by 'the dread of great darkness', but the state when the sun had gone down is described by 'the thick darkness' and other details given in verse 17 below.

[2] The Lord spoke of it in the same way in Matthew,

The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:29.

He did not mean that the sun of the world will be darkened but the celestial entity of love and charity. Nor will the moon be darkened but the spiritual entity of faith. Nor will the stars fall from heaven but the cognitions of good and truth with the member of the Church, which are 'the powers of the heavens'. Nor will these things take place in heaven but on earth, for heaven is never plunged into darkness.

[3] 'A dread of great darkness fell on him' means His horror at such great devastation. In the measure that the heavenly or celestial things of love find acceptance in anyone, so great is his horror when he perceives the close. This applied to the Lord more than anybody else, since His love was heavenly and Divine love itself.

[4] 'Darkness' means falsities, as is clear from very many places in the

Word, as in Isaiah,

Woe to those who put darkness for light, and light for darkness! Isaiah 5:20.

'Darkness' stands for falsities and 'light' for truths. In the same prophet, He will look to the land, and behold, darkness, distress; and the light has been darkened. Isaiah 5:30.

'Darkness' stands for falsities, 'darkened light' for the fact that truth does not appear.

[5] In the same prophet,

Behold, darkness is covering the earth, and thick darkness the peoples. Isaiah 60:2.

In Amos,

The day of Jehovah is that of darkness and not light. Is not the day of Jehovah darkness and not light, thick darkness and no brightness in it? Amos 5:18, 20.

In Zephaniah,

The great day of Jehovah is near. A day of wrath is that day, a day of anguish and repression, a day of vastation and desolation, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of cloud and shadow. Zephaniah 1:14-15.

Here 'the day of Jehovah' stands for the final period and state of the Church, while 'darkness and thick darkness' stands for falsities and evils.

[6] The Lord too calls falsities 'darkness', in Matthew,

If your eye has been evil, the whole body has been made full of darkness. If therefore the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:23.

'Darkness' is used to mean falsities that have overtaken people who possess cognitions, a greater darkness than that found in those called gentiles, who have no cognitions.

[7] Similarly in the same gospel,

The sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness. Matthew 8:12; 22:13.

'Outer darkness' stands for the quite dreadful falsities of those inside the Church, for those people shut out the light and oppose truths with falsities, something gentiles are not able to do. In John,

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men; but the light appears in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5.

'The darkness' stands for falsities inside the Church.

[8] Falsities outside the Church too are called 'darkness' but these are capable of receiving light. Of them it is said in Matthew,

The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light; and for those sitting in the region and shadow of death, the light has arisen. Matthew 4:16.

'Darkness' stands for falsities that go with not knowing, such as exist with gentiles.

[9] In John,

This is the judgement, that light has come into the world, but men have preferred darkness rather than light, for their deeds were evil. John 3:19.

'Light' stands for truths, and 'darkness' for falsities. 'The light' also stands for the Lord since He is the source of all truth, while 'darkness' stands for the hells since they are the source of all falsity.

[10] In the same gospel,

Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in darkness. John 8:12.

In the same gospel,

Walk, as long as you have the light, lest darkness overtakes you, for he who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. I have come as light into the world in order that all who believe in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:35, 46.

'Light' stands for the Lord, the source of all good and truth, 'darkness' for falsities, which are dispersed by the Lord alone.

[11] The falsities that prevail in the last times and which are called 'the darkness' here, that is, to which 'the dread of great darkness' has reference, were represented and meant by the darkness that came over the whole earth from the sixth to the ninth hour, and also by the sun's being darkened at that time, by which was represented and meant that no love, that is, no faith, existed any more, Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-45.

  
Yiya esigabeni / 10837  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.