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the world, is very evident from the nativity of the Lord the Saviour, in that He was conceived of the power, or virtue, of the Highest by the Holy Spirit, and that hence His Human principle was born of the virgin Mary, whence it follows that His soul was the essential Divine principle Itself, which is called the Father, for God is indivisible, and that the Human principle thence born is the Human principle of God the Father, which is called the Son of God. Luke i. 35. From these considerations it again follows, that when the Lord God the Saviour is approached, God the Father is also approached; wherefore when Philip asks the Lord to shew him the Father, the Lord replies, "He that seeth me, seeth the Father: how then sayest thou shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me." John xiv. 6 -11. T. C. R. 538.

Verse 47.-My spirit.-See Exposition at verse 80.

Verse 50. And His mercy, &c.-The Lord's internal was the very celestial principle of love, that is, Love Itself, to which no other attributes can be ascribed than such as belong to pure love, consequently, to pure mercy towards the whole human race; which is of such a nature as to be desirous to save all, and make them eternally happy, and to bestow on them all things appertaining to itself; thus out of pure mercy to draw all, who are willing to follow, to heaven, that is, to Itself, by the powerful attraction of love. 4. C. 1735.

Love itself, is turned into mercy, and becomes mercy, when any one who is in need of help, is regarded from love or charity, hence mercy is an effect of love toward the needy and miserable. A. C. 3063.

Them that fear Him.-To fear signifies to love, because every one who loves another is also afraid to do harm to him whom he loves; there is no such thing as genuine love without such fear, therefore he who loves the Lord is afraid to do evils because evils are contrary to Him. To fear God signifies to love the things which are of God, by doing them, and by not willing to do the things which are against Him. The fear of God with the wicked is not love, but the fear of hell. A. R. 527.

Verse 51. Made strength in His arm, &c.-In the Word, by hands, arms, and shoulders, are signified powers; that this is signified by the arms, is evident from several passages, as from the following, "Be thou an arm every morning." Isaiah xxxiii. 2. "The Lord Jehovah cometh in might, and His arm shall rule for Him." xl. 10. "He worketh it by the arm of His

strength." xliv 12. "Mine arms shall judge the people." li. 5. "Put on strength, O arm of Jehovah." li. 9. "I looked, and there was none to help; . . . therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me." lxiii. 5. "Cursed be he who trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm." Jeremiah xvii. 5. "I have made the earth, man, and beast, by my great power, and by my stretched-out arm." xxvii. 5; xxxii. 17. A. C. 4933.

That the hand signifies and represents power, is evident from the representatives in the world of spirits, where a certain naked arm is sometimes presented to view, which is so strong, that it appears capable of crushing bones and bruising as it were to nothing their inmost marrow. Hence it excites so much alarm, that all who see it are ready to melt at heart, for it actually possesses this strength. A. Č. 878.

He hath scattered the proud.-By pride is understood the love of self; . . . and the love and faith of what is false, with those who are of the church. A. E. 653, 675.

Verse 53. He hath filled the hungry with good things, &c.— The hungry in this passage denotes those who are in other places called the poor, thus who have not bread and water, and consequently who are in hunger and thirst, that is, who do not know what is good and true, and still desire those things; by bread and water, in the Word, are signified good and truth; and by hungering and thirsting, thus by hunger and thirst, is signified a desire to those things. A. C. 10,227.

The hungry denote those who desire knowledges; of this quality were the Gentiles, who received the Lord and doctrine from Him; but the rich are those who have knowledges, because they have the Word, such were the Jews, but who still were not willing to know the truths thence derived, wherefore neither did they receive the Lord and doctrine from Him; these latter are the rich who were sent away empty, but the former are the hungry, who were filled with good things. A.E. 236. See also 386.

The life of good spirits and of angels is supported by no other food than by the knowledges of good and of truth, and by goods and truths themselves, hence comes the signification of hunger [famis] and of bread, in the internal sense of the Word, as in the Psalms, "He hath satisfied the longing soul, and filled the hungry soul with good" cvii. 9; denoting those who desire the knowledges of good and truth. The like is signified by "filling the hungry with good things" Luke i. 53, denoting celestial good things and their knowledges. A.C. 1460. See also Exposition, chaps. vi. 20, 21; ix. 12—17.

The rich He hath sent empty away.-The rich denote those who know many things, for riches in the spiritual sense are scientifics, doctrinals, and the knowledges of good and of truth; they are called the empty rich who know those things, and do not practise them, for truths to them are not truths, because they are without good. That empty denotes where there is nothing true, because there is nothing good, is manifest from the Word, as in Jeremiah, "The great ones sent the little ones for waters, they came to the pits, and did not find waters; they returned with empty vessels, they were affected with shame and ignominy, and covered their head.” xiv. 3. A. C. 4744. See also A. C. 10,227.

Verse 54. He hath accepted His servant Israel to remember mercy. It is said in the Word concerning Jehovah, that is, the Lord, that He remembers, and that He does not remember, and thereby is signified what is then done from mercy, whether it be preservation or deliverance; in like manner as when it is said that He sees, hears, knows, and that He does not see, does not hear, and does not know, by which expressions also are signified exertions of mercy and no exertions of mercy. The reason why it is so expressed is from similitude with man, and from the appearance; for when man averts himself from the Lord, as is the case when he does evil, at such times, inasmuch as the Lord is behind him, it appears to him as if the Lord does not see him, does not hear and know him, nor remember him, when yet the cause is with man, and hence from appearance it is so expressed in the Word; but the contrary is the case when man turns himself to the Lord, as is the case when he does well. Every one may know, that recollection, or remembrance, cannot be predicated of the Lord, since things past and future in Him are eternal, that is, present from eternity to eternity. That to remember, when predicated of the Lord, is to be merciful, and thus to preserve or liberate from a principle of mercy, is manifest from the following passages, "Jehovah hath made known His salvation, He hath revealed His justice before the eyes of the nations, He hath remembered His mercy and His truth to the house of Israel." Psalm xcviii. 2. Again, "Jehovah hath remembered us in our humility, because His mercy is for ever." Psalm cxxxvi. 23. So in Luke, "God hath accepted His servant Israel, to remember His mercy," &c. A. C. 9849.

Verses 64, 68. He spake, blessing God, &c. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited and wrought redemption for His people.-To bless Jehovah or the Lord, was a customary

form of speaking amongst the ancients; as may appear from the Word: thus in David: "Bless God in the congregations, the Lord from the fountain of Israel." Psalm lxviii. 26. Again: "Sing unto Jehovah, bless his name, shew forth his salvation from day to day." Psalm xcvi. 2. So in Daniel: "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of the heavens,-and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are his." ii. 19, 20. It is written also of Zacharias and Simeon, that they "blessed God." Luke i. 64; ii. 28. From these passages it appears what is meant by blessing the Lord, viz., that it is to sing to Him, to declare His salvation, to proclaim His wisdom and might, thus to confess and acknowledge the Lord from the heart. They who do this cannot but be blessed by the Lord, that is, be gifted with those things which are the subjects of such blessing, viz., with celestial, spiritual, natural, worldly, and corporeal good; all which things, when they thus succeed each other in orderly arrangement, are good, and have in them happiness. A. C. 1422.

Zacharias spake these words, when, being filled with the Spirit, he prophesied concerning the Lord, and by blessing God, and by the Lord God of Israel being blessed, is signified glorification and giving of thanks, because He delivers and vindicates from hell those who receive Him; wherefore also it is said, "Because He hath visited and wrought redemption for His people;" by redemption is signified deliverance from hell, and by His people are signified those who are in truths derived from good, thus who receive. A. E. 340.

The last time of an old church, and the first of a new, is in the Word called visitation, and is predicated both of the church in general, and of those who are within the church in particular; it is predicated also concerning the new church which is born, and concerning the old church which expires; in particular concerning the man of the church, who is saved, also who is damned. That these things in the Word are signified by visitation, and by the day of visitation, may be manifest from the following passages, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He hath visited, and wrought redemption for His people. Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Day-spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" Luke i. 68, 78, 79; these words contain a prophetic declaration concerning the Lord who was born; to be visited, in this passage, denotes the raising up of a new church, and the illustration on this occasion of those who were in igno

rance of the truth and good of faith, thus concerning their deliverance; wherefore it is said, "He hath visited and wrought redemption for His people, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death." A. C. 6588. See also A. C. 2242.

Verse 59. They came to circumcise, &c.-The primary rite which distinguished the Israelitish church from the other Asiatic churches, and afterwards from the Christian, was circumcision; and since all the ordinances of the Israelitish church, which were external, were figures of all things in the christian church, which are internal, hence the primary sign of that church was inwardly similar to the sign of the christian church; for circumcision signified the rejection of the lusts of the flesh, and consequently purification from evils; and the same is also signified by baptism. Hence it is evident that baptism was instituted in the place of circumcision, to the end that the christian church might be distinguished from the Jewish, and that it might be more readily known to be an internal church; and this is known by the uses of baptism. Baptism was instituted in the place of circumcision, because the circumcision of the flesh represented the circumcision of the heart, which also signifies purification from evils; for evils of every kind arise from the flesh, and the foreskin signifies its polluted loves. Since circumcision and the washing of baptism signify the same thing, it is therefore said in Jeremiah, "Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart" iv. 4; and a little after, "O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved." verse 14. What circumcision and washing the heart signify the Lord teaches in Matthew xv. 18, 19. T. C. R. 674, 675.

Verses 69, 71. And hath raised up a horn of salvation, &c. -These words contain a prophecy of Zacharias concerning the Lord and His coming; "a horn of salvation in the house of David" signifies the omnipotence of saving by Divine truth derived from Divine good; "horn" is that omnipotence: the "house of David" is the Church of the Lord; the "enemies" from which He would save are the falses of evil, for these are the enemies from which the Lord saves those who receive Him; that there were no other enemies from which the Lord saved those who are meant by His people, is a known thing. A. E. 316.

Verse 70. His holy prophets.-Men of holiness denote those who are led of the Lord, for the Divine principle proceeding

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