DEUTERONOMY 10
Other translations - previous - next - notes - discussion - Deuteronomy - BM Home - Full Page

Deuteronomy Chapter 10

Verses 1-5. That a new regenerate will is required in the natural mind.
Verses 6, 7. Progression in the religious opinions.
Verses 8-11. The faculty for receiving good in the new will entirely from heaven.
Verses 12, 13. The whole duty of man is to keep the commandments.
Verses 14-22. The desire of the Lord to save all as far as possible.

At that time the LORD said to me, Hew you two tables of stone like the first, and come up to me into the mount, and make you an ark of wood.

And in that state perception is given to the spiritual faculties of the soul from the Lord, that the soul must, as it were from itself, prepare the heart to learn and carry out the truths of the Word which would conjoin it to the Lord, as perceived in the former state, and that the higher faculties must ascend into a state of love to the Lord, and seek help from Him, and thus acquire in the inmost soul a new regenerate will for good, receptive of genuine truth from the Lord.

And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which you brakest, and you shall put them in the ark.

The Lord will then co-operate with these endeavours to acquire the laws of order and of heaven, and write upon the heart all those truths of which the soul has had perception, but which have been dissipated by non-reception by the natural man, and they shall thus be stored up in the new regenerate will.

And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.

And thus the soul acquires a new regenerate will from the good of the Lord's Divine Humanity (that is, from the character of God as revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ), and endeavours to prepare the heart to receive Divine truths which would conjoin the soul to the Lord, according to the former perception of His will, and the higher faculties rise into a state of love to the Lord, and seek His aid whilst endeavouring to carry out His laws in all the actions of life. [Note.—It is said the new regenerate will is acquired from the good of the Lord's Divine Humanity; that is, from the Lord Jesus Christ, because, apart from Divine good as revealed in His character, the human mind is incapable of forming any true idea of what real good is, and of course of acquiring any new will derived from good.]

And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spoke to you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them to me.

And the Lord impresses upon the heart thus prepared to receive them the truths necessary to salvation from the Divine Word, according to the first perception, even all that it is necessary for the soul to do, as far as it can receive it, which had been made manifest to the soul when raised to a state of good proceeding from the Divine Love, when the absolute necessity of carrying out the laws of Divine order in the whole life was revealed to every faculty of the mind; and the Lord so impressed the internal man with these truths that they seemed to be his own.

And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.

And the internal man then turned from this state of perception to regulate the external life, and stored up the truths received from heaven in the new regenerate will, where they remain to regulate the life, as commanded from the Lord.

And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.

And the soul proceeds in the work of regeneration from this state to a new one derived from the Lord's Human Essence; in which its old religious doctrines and worship are changed, and become less external, and others more suitable to the new state, in which the life is considered of more importance than doctrine, are adopted in their stead.
[Note.—Aaron died on Mount Hor, on the borders of the land of Edom (Num 20:22-29). Edom represents the Human Essence of the Lord. (See AC Index.)]

From thence they journeyed to Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters.

And thus the soul is brought by successive stages to a state in which it is abundantly supplied with wisdom and intelligence from the pure truths of the Word.

At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to him, and to bless in his name, to this day.

And in that state it is revealed to the soul by the Lord that all its salvation is from the love and mercy of the Lord and conjunction with Him (Levi); it is this alone which supports the new regenerate will by which the soul is united to heaven; it is this which leads the soul to seek the presence of the Lord and to carry out His will, and gifts it with heavenly blessings by conforming it to the Divine Likeness (or the Lord Jesus Christ) in every state.

Wherefore Levi has no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD your God promised him.

And it is seen that this good is not at all from the man himself, or inherent in his faculties; but is from the Lord alone, and proceeds from His Divine Goodness and Wisdom as is written in the Word.

And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened to me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy you.

And the higher faculties of the soul are kept in an exalted state of love to the Lord as in former temptations till these things are fully impressed upon both the will and the understanding by struggles against the opposing evils and falsities; and thus communication is opened with the Divine principle again, so that the spiritual life of the soul is preserved from destruction.

And the LORD said to me, Arise, take your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give to them.

And the spiritual faculties of the soul perceive from the Lord that they must strive after the highest good and virtue they can attain to, and lead after them all the faculties of the soul that they may become more interior (or perfect), and thus be gifted with those heavenly affections which are promised by the Lord to those who are in good from Himself.

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

And now, O regenerating soul, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear to act against the Divine Love and Wisdom, and to regulate your life by these Divine principles, and to love them above all things, and to serve the Lord your God (the Lord Jesus Christ) with all your will and with all your understanding?

To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command you this day for your good?

To do everything which the soul perceives from the Lord to be right both in will and deed, for it is seen in this state that to follow this perception is the soul's truest good.

Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's your God, the earth also, with all that therein is.

Behold the spiritual man and all the holy affections of good and truth within you, and all the highest aspirations after real good and happiness you have ever conceived of, are derived from the Love and Wisdom flowing from the Humanity of the Lord; and the natural mind also and all its faculties receptive of anything really good.

Only the LORD had a delight in your fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.

And out of pure mercy the Lord has a delight in what is receptive of good affections from Himself to enable Him to bless all, and selects those principles which are derived therefrom, even those which are received into the soul by regeneration to be His peculiar care, as in the present state.

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

Let those who are regenerating, therefore, purify their wills from all evil, and no more reject the holy influences from heaven.

For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regards not persons, nor takes reward:

For the Lord Jesus Christ, or Jehovah, whom you seek to follow, is the very spring and fountain of all truth (Elohe, Elohim), and the spring and fountain of all good; the Divine Omnipotent One, from whom is all power, before whose presence what is evil cannot stand, which looks not at externals nor to the outward actions of men, nor can you please Him with any external worship which is not of the heart:

He does execute the judgement of the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, in giving him food and clothing.

In His mercy He does lead those who are in good and desire truth to find it, and by truth leads those who earnestly seek them to good and holy affections; he loves those who are willing to be instructed in heavenly things, and recruits them with the spiritual nourishment of good affections, and clothes them with suitable truths.

Love you therefore the stranger: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Cherish, therefore, all those faculties in the soul which sincerely desire instruction in heavenly things; for by means of these what is spiritual within you was brought out of the mental slavery of the unregenerate state.

You shall fear the LORD your God; him shall you serve, and to him shall you cleave, and swear by his name.

You shall reverence and exceedingly fear to offend against the goodness and wisdom proceeding from the Lord's Humanity; these are to be the chief object of your worship which you shall serve and adhere to in every thought, will, and deed, and regard as the test and criterion by which to judge of all things.

He is your praise, and he is your God, that has done for you these great and terrible things, which your eyes have seen.

These are what give you true worth of character, these are worthy of reverence and worship, these have given you all that you have of good, and made you abominate your evil propensities, as has been made evident to your understanding.

Your fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven for multitude.

The goods of innocence and childhood with you were insinuated by the Lord amongst the knowledges and doctrinals existing in the mind in the unregenerate state as far as was possible; and now the Divine Goodness and Wisdom of the Lord have by them completely replenished the mind with internal truths and knowledges of faith.

DEUTERONOMY 10 Other translations - previous - next - notes - discussion - Deuteronomy - BM Home - Full Page

At that time the LORD said to me, Hew you two tables of stone like the first, and come up to me into the mount, and make you an ark of wood.	And in that state perception is given to the spiritual faculties of the soul from the Lord, that the soul must, as it were from itself, prepare the heart to learn and carry out the truths of the Word which would conjoin it to the Lord, as perceived in the former state, and that the higher faculties must ascend into a state of love to the Lord, and seek help from Him, and thus acquire in the inmost soul a new regenerate will for good, receptive of genuine truth from the Lord.
And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which you brakest, and you shall put them in the ark.	The Lord will then co-operate with these endeavours to acquire the laws of order and of heaven, and write upon the heart all those truths of which the soul has had perception, but which have been dissipated by non-reception by the natural man, and they shall thus be stored up in the new regenerate will.
And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.	And thus the soul acquires a new regenerate will from the good of the Lord's Divine Humanity (that is, from the character of God as revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ), and endeavours to prepare the heart to receive Divine truths which would conjoin the soul to the Lord, according to the former perception of His will, and the higher faculties rise into a state of love to the Lord, and seek His aid whilst endeavouring to carry out His laws in all the actions of life. [Note.—It is said the new regenerate will is acquired from the good of the Lord's Divine Humanity; that is, from the Lord Jesus Christ, because, apart from Divine good as revealed in His character, the human mind is incapable of forming any true idea of what real good is, and of course of acquiring any new will derived from good.]
And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spoke to you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them to me.	And the Lord impresses upon the heart thus prepared to receive them the truths necessary to salvation from the Divine Word, according to the first perception, even all that it is necessary for the soul to do, as far as it can receive it, which had been made manifest to the soul when raised to a state of good proceeding from the Divine Love, when the absolute necessity of carrying out the laws of Divine order in the whole life was revealed to every faculty of the mind; and the Lord so impressed the internal man with these truths that they seemed to be his own.
And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.	And the internal man then turned from this state of perception to regulate the external life, and stored up the truths received from heaven in the new regenerate will, where they remain to regulate the life, as commanded from the Lord.
And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.	And the soul proceeds in the work of regeneration from this state to a new one derived from the Lord's Human Essence; in which its old religious doctrines and worship are changed, and become less external, and others more suitable to the new state, in which the life is considered of more importance than doctrine, are adopted in their stead. [Note.—Aaron died on Mount Hor, on the borders of the land of Edom (Num 20:22-29). Edom represents the Human Essence of the Lord. (See AC Index.)]
From thence they journeyed to Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters.	And thus the soul is brought by successive stages to a state in which it is abundantly supplied with wisdom and intelligence from the pure truths of the Word.
At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to him, and to bless in his name, to this day.	And in that state it is revealed to the soul by the Lord that all its salvation is from the love and mercy of the Lord and conjunction with Him (Levi); it is this alone which supports the new regenerate will by which the soul is united to heaven; it is this which leads the soul to seek the presence of the Lord and to carry out His will, and gifts it with heavenly blessings by conforming it to the Divine Likeness (or the Lord Jesus Christ) in every state.
Wherefore Levi has no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD your God promised him.	And it is seen that this good is not at all from the man himself, or inherent in his faculties; but is from the Lord alone, and proceeds from His Divine Goodness and Wisdom as is written in the Word.
And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened to me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy you.	And the higher faculties of the soul are kept in an exalted state of love to the Lord as in former temptations till these things are fully impressed upon both the will and the understanding by struggles against the opposing evils and falsities; and thus communication is opened with the Divine principle again, so that the spiritual life of the soul is preserved from destruction.
And the LORD said to me, Arise, take your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give to them.	And the spiritual faculties of the soul perceive from the Lord that they must strive after the highest good and virtue they can attain to, and lead after them all the faculties of the soul that they may become more interior (or perfect), and thus be gifted with those heavenly affections which are promised by the Lord to those who are in good from Himself.
And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,	And now, O regenerating soul, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear to act against the Divine Love and Wisdom, and to regulate your life by these Divine principles, and to love them above all things, and to serve the Lord your God (the Lord Jesus Christ) with all your will and with all your understanding?
To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command you this day for your good?	To do everything which the soul perceives from the Lord to be right both in will and deed, for it is seen in this state that to follow this perception is the soul's truest good.
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's your God, the earth also, with all that therein is.	Behold the spiritual man and all the holy affections of good and truth within you, and all the highest aspirations after real good and happiness you have ever conceived of, are derived from the Love and Wisdom flowing from the Humanity of the Lord; and the natural mind also and all its faculties receptive of anything really good.
Only the LORD had a delight in your fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.	And out of pure mercy the Lord has a delight in what is receptive of good affections from Himself to enable Him to bless all, and selects those principles which are derived therefrom, even those which are received into the soul by regeneration to be His peculiar care, as in the present state.
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.	Let those who are regenerating, therefore, purify their wills from all evil, and no more reject the holy influences from heaven.
For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regards not persons, nor takes reward:	For the Lord Jesus Christ, or Jehovah, whom you seek to follow, is the very spring and fountain of all truth (Elohe, Elohim), and the spring and fountain of all good; the Divine Omnipotent One, from whom is all power, before whose presence what is evil cannot stand, which looks not at externals nor to the outward actions of men, nor can you please Him with any external worship which is not of the heart:
He does execute the judgement of the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, in giving him food and clothing.	In His mercy He does lead those who are in good and desire truth to find it, and by truth leads those who earnestly seek them to good and holy affections; he loves those who are willing to be instructed in heavenly things, and recruits them with the spiritual nourishment of good affections, and clothes them with suitable truths.
Love you therefore the stranger: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.	Cherish, therefore, all those faculties in the soul which sincerely desire instruction in heavenly things; for by means of these what is spiritual within you was brought out of the mental slavery of the unregenerate state.
You shall fear the LORD your God; him shall you serve, and to him shall you cleave, and swear by his name.	You shall reverence and exceedingly fear to offend against the goodness and wisdom proceeding from the Lord's Humanity; these are to be the chief object of your worship which you shall serve and adhere to in every thought, will, and deed, and regard as the test and criterion by which to judge of all things.
He is your praise, and he is your God, that has done for you these great and terrible things, which your eyes have seen.	These are what give you true worth of character, these are worthy of reverence and worship, these have given you all that you have of good, and made you abominate your evil propensities, as has been made evident to your understanding.
Your fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven for multitude.	The goods of innocence and childhood with you were insinuated by the Lord amongst the knowledges and doctrinals existing in the mind in the unregenerate state as far as was possible; and now the Divine Goodness and Wisdom of the Lord have by them completely replenished the mind with internal truths and knowledges of faith.