DEUTERONOMY 33
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Deuteronomy Chapter 33

Verse 1. The state of the soul when it ceases to be led by Divine truth.
Verses 2-5. The Lord by obedience to the Divine law raised His Humanity even to the Divinity, whence is all the Divine life of the regenerate.
Verse 6. The understanding of the Word illuminated from heaven is the life of the soul.
Verse 7. Of good thence derived in the natural principle.
Verses 8-11. Concerning the genuine love of good or charity.
Verse 12. Of truth thus brought down into the life.
Verses 13-17. Of the internal good thus acquired in the rational mind.
Verses 18, 19. Of the marriage between good and truth in the said.
Verses 20, 21. Of a good life thence derived, and (verse 22) the consequent confirmation of truth in the soul, and (verse 23) victory in temptations, and (verses 24, 25) happiness even to external and worldly things.
Verses 26-29. There is no help like the Lord, and none are so blessed as those who suffer themselves to be regenerated by Him.

And this is the blessing, with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

Now these are the heavenly states with which the soul was endowed by Divine truth leading it from the Lord, before the new state came in which it ceased to be led immediately by Divine truth.

And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir to them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.

It was perceived how the Lord by obedience to the Divine law elevated His natural Human principle even to the Divinity itself; and from His state of glorification light shone forth, and the Church was filled with truth and holiness proceeding from Him; and with ability to follow the doctrines of love which He taught.

Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in your hand: and they sat down at your feet; every one shall receive of your words.

For which also He loved truths; and all those who are regenerated are reformed by His power; and are collected in heavenly order under Him as their Head in one Church; and receive their life from Him.

Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

They obey His will as given in His law; which is true happiness for the natural mind.

And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.

And thus the whole mind, even to the natural principle, is ruled by the Lord, when the truths acquired, and all the principles of the soul under them are arranged in the true heavenly order of the spiritual man.

Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.

Let the understanding of the Word, illuminated by-light from heaven, be the life of the soul, and never be extinguished; yet such illumination is rarely received (AE 434).

And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be you an help to him from his enemies.

And it is perceived concerning the love of good thence derived in the natural mind (AC 5782), that it is the Divine will that all the holy aspirations after good in the natural principle proceeding from the genuine love of good should be cherished; and that the soul should progress to a state in which they can be carried out; and that strength should be given it to accomplish this; and the Lord Himself will help against the evils that assault and try to quench them. [Note. —Judah seems, in the blessing of the tribes in this chapter, to take the usual place of Simeon, who is not mentioned; this is doubtless because a state proceeding from truth or faith (Reuben) is treated of; and not one proceeding primarily from love, which is signified by Judah.]

And of Levi he said, Let your Thummim and your Urim be with your holy one, whom you did prove at Massah, and with whom you did strive at the waters of Meribah;

If And concerning spiritual love or genuine charity, it is perceived, that all the desire of doing good, and wisdom as to the means of accomplishing it, are by illumination from the Lord by the Word, as has been made evident to the soul in states of temptation from defect of truths, in which it seemed to be left without help.

Who said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed your word, and kept your covenant.

It then perceives of the good and truth which it has received from infancy, that they are not to be accepted if not in accordance with the light given from heaven; and that good works are not genuine unless prompted by love to the Lord, and that nothing that comes from the man himself is good: but that all genuine good is from the teaching of the Word, and the endeavour to regulate the life by the rules therein given.

They shall teach Jacob your judgements, and Israel your law: they shall put incense before you, and whole burnt sacrifice upon your altar.

This is the principle which shall teach external truths to the natural mind, and internal to the spiritual: and from this shall arise from the soul an acceptable worship to the Lord, a worship that proceeds from the love of genuine good derived from Him.

Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.

Bless, O Lord, the things already acquired in the soul by means of this principle, and accept its endeavours after higher virtue: smite down all those evils which would prevent the union of good and, truth in the soul, and oppose themselves to these holy aspirations after good from Thyself, that they no more oppress the spiritual life.

And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.

And of the truth thus brought down into the life it is predicated that all that is beloved of the Lord in the soul shall dwell safely by its means; and shall be protected in every state, and by means of it shall the powers of the soul for good and truth be exercised.

And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,

And of the internal good thus acquired in the rational mind it is said, Blessed shall the soul be of the Lord when this state is acquired, both in the spiritual internal riches with which it is endowed, with their influence on things natural, and with the stores of wisdom with which the natural principle shall be enriched;

And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,

And for the good fruits brought forth by the influence of the love of the Lord on the soul, and for the spiritual perceptions of Divine truth;

And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,

And for the influx into the mind of pure affections from the celestial heavens of the Lord, and for the influx of truth from the spiritual heavens;

And for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

And for the good works which thence exist in the external man, conjoined with wisdom, and union thence with the Lord, who Himself in the Divine Humanity regenerated even the external principles of human nature: these things come upon the soul regenerated by the Lord, and upon the inmost principles of the minds of those who have been separated from their hereditary evils and falses by Him.

His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

The beauty of this good work of the Lord in the soul is made known from the good that results in the natural mind; and the mighty and powerful truths of which it then becomes possessed; by means of which falsities are dispersed, and the whole mind arranged in heavenly order; whereby the soul receives wisdom from genuine truths, and good desires and determinations from the Lord to live thereby. (See AE 316.)

And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out; and, Issachar, in your tents.

And of those who are both in truth as to the understanding and good as to the will, or the heavenly marriage, it is perceived that they have happiness in all their undertakings; and thence come salvation and heavenly reward in the interiors of the soul (Issachar).

They shall call the people to the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.

This union of good and truth conducts all things in the mind to heaven where the good of love prevails; and makes the life a sacrifice of righteousness to heaven; from this the soul abounds in truths of doctrine from the Word, and in intelligence thence derived; and understands the spiritual things which lie hidden beneath the literal sense of the Word, (See AE 445.)

And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwells as a lion, and tears the arm with the crown of the head.

And it is perceived concerning a life in conformity with truth from the Word that he is blessed who receives this by carrying out truths into the life; for thereby the soul has strength and security from falses, and is nourished with external and internal truths.

And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgements with Israel.

He who makes this his care follows after those things which are really essential and needful; it is his portion in some measure to understand the hidden wisdom of the Divine laws; whence comes intelligence for the whole mind, and this enables him to carry out good works from the Lord, and to receive the truths of the Church.

And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.

Hence comes the affirmation of all truth in the mind, and its power: which springs from the good now formed in the natural principle.

And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess you the west and the south.

Hence also come victory in temptations, and consolation and benediction from the Divine love after them, and the consequent affection of truth and illumination thence. (See AE 439.)

And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

And it is perceived that felicity of life and delight of the affections come from this source above all others; whence all things in the soul are in agreement and act together, which causes even the lowest principles of the mind to be filled with celestial delights, and

Your shoes shall be iron and brass; and as your days, so shall your strength be.

Things corporeal and worldly to be in agreement with the principles of good and truth; and fortifies the mind for every state. (See also AE 438.)

There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides upon the heaven in your help, and in his excellency on the sky.

There is none like the Lord, who in His Humanity leads and wars for those regenerating, who is present in the interiors of the soul for their help, and by His Divine power is ever operating through Providence for their good.

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before you; and shall say, Destroy them.

Who thus fills the angels with all their life and power from truth Divine, and hence is all life and strength also to men in the world; and He shall thrust out all evil and falsity from the soul, and they shall be destroyed.

Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.

The spiritual man shall then be without infestation from evils and falses, and shall be led by the Lord alone; and the Divine Word shall be opened, and from it good and truth shall flow forth into the Church and each individual soul that will receive them, and they shall be recruited by continual influx from heaven.

Happy are you, O Israel: who is like you, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help, and who is the sword of your excellency! and your enemies shall be found liars to you; and you shall tread upon their high places.

Blessed is the man regenerated by the Lord; who is like him? a man saved by the immediate care of the Lord, who is the defence of his help, and his irresistible weapon of offence against all evil and falsity! he shall see the folly of all the false principles that entice him; and shall trample their power under foot.

DEUTERONOMY 33 Other translations - previous - next - notes - discussion - Deuteronomy - BM Home - Full Page

And this is the blessing, with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.	Now these are the heavenly states with which the soul was endowed by Divine truth leading it from the Lord, before the new state came in which it ceased to be led immediately by Divine truth.
And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir to them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.	It was perceived how the Lord by obedience to the Divine law elevated His natural Human principle even to the Divinity itself; and from His state of glorification light shone forth, and the Church was filled with truth and holiness proceeding from Him; and with ability to follow the doctrines of love which He taught.
Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in your hand: and they sat down at your feet; every one shall receive of your words.	For which also He loved truths; and all those who are regenerated are reformed by His power; and are collected in heavenly order under Him as their Head in one Church; and receive their life from Him.
Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.	They obey His will as given in His law; which is true happiness for the natural mind.
And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.	And thus the whole mind, even to the natural principle, is ruled by the Lord, when the truths acquired, and all the principles of the soul under them are arranged in the true heavenly order of the spiritual man.
Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.	Let the understanding of the Word, illuminated by-light from heaven, be the life of the soul, and never be extinguished; yet such illumination is rarely received (AE 434).
And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be you an help to him from his enemies.	And it is perceived concerning the love of good thence derived in the natural mind (AC 5782), that it is the Divine will that all the holy aspirations after good in the natural principle proceeding from the genuine love of good should be cherished; and that the soul should progress to a state in which they can be carried out; and that strength should be given it to accomplish this; and the Lord Himself will help against the evils that assault and try to quench them. [Note. —Judah seems, in the blessing of the tribes in this chapter, to take the usual place of Simeon, who is not mentioned; this is doubtless because a state proceeding from truth or faith (Reuben) is treated of; and not one proceeding primarily from love, which is signified by Judah.]
And of Levi he said, Let your Thummim and your Urim be with your holy one, whom you did prove at Massah, and with whom you did strive at the waters of Meribah;	If And concerning spiritual love or genuine charity, it is perceived, that all the desire of doing good, and wisdom as to the means of accomplishing it, are by illumination from the Lord by the Word, as has been made evident to the soul in states of temptation from defect of truths, in which it seemed to be left without help.
Who said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed your word, and kept your covenant.	It then perceives of the good and truth which it has received from infancy, that they are not to be accepted if not in accordance with the light given from heaven; and that good works are not genuine unless prompted by love to the Lord, and that nothing that comes from the man himself is good: but that all genuine good is from the teaching of the Word, and the endeavour to regulate the life by the rules therein given.
They shall teach Jacob your judgements, and Israel your law: they shall put incense before you, and whole burnt sacrifice upon your altar.	This is the principle which shall teach external truths to the natural mind, and internal to the spiritual: and from this shall arise from the soul an acceptable worship to the Lord, a worship that proceeds from the love of genuine good derived from Him.
Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.	Bless, O Lord, the things already acquired in the soul by means of this principle, and accept its endeavours after higher virtue: smite down all those evils which would prevent the union of good and, truth in the soul, and oppose themselves to these holy aspirations after good from Thyself, that they no more oppress the spiritual life.
And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.	And of the truth thus brought down into the life it is predicated that all that is beloved of the Lord in the soul shall dwell safely by its means; and shall be protected in every state, and by means of it shall the powers of the soul for good and truth be exercised.
And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,	And of the internal good thus acquired in the rational mind it is said, Blessed shall the soul be of the Lord when this state is acquired, both in the spiritual internal riches with which it is endowed, with their influence on things natural, and with the stores of wisdom with which the natural principle shall be enriched;
And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,	And for the good fruits brought forth by the influence of the love of the Lord on the soul, and for the spiritual perceptions of Divine truth;
And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,	And for the influx into the mind of pure affections from the celestial heavens of the Lord, and for the influx of truth from the spiritual heavens;
And for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.	And for the good works which thence exist in the external man, conjoined with wisdom, and union thence with the Lord, who Himself in the Divine Humanity regenerated even the external principles of human nature: these things come upon the soul regenerated by the Lord, and upon the inmost principles of the minds of those who have been separated from their hereditary evils and falses by Him.
His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.	The beauty of this good work of the Lord in the soul is made known from the good that results in the natural mind; and the mighty and powerful truths of which it then becomes possessed; by means of which falsities are dispersed, and the whole mind arranged in heavenly order; whereby the soul receives wisdom from genuine truths, and good desires and determinations from the Lord to live thereby. (See AE 316.)
And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out; and, Issachar, in your tents.	And of those who are both in truth as to the understanding and good as to the will, or the heavenly marriage, it is perceived that they have happiness in all their undertakings; and thence come salvation and heavenly reward in the interiors of the soul (Issachar).
They shall call the people to the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.	This union of good and truth conducts all things in the mind to heaven where the good of love prevails; and makes the life a sacrifice of righteousness to heaven; from this the soul abounds in truths of doctrine from the Word, and in intelligence thence derived; and understands the spiritual things which lie hidden beneath the literal sense of the Word, (See AE 445.)
And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwells as a lion, and tears the arm with the crown of the head.	And it is perceived concerning a life in conformity with truth from the Word that he is blessed who receives this by carrying out truths into the life; for thereby the soul has strength and security from falses, and is nourished with external and internal truths.
And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgements with Israel.	He who makes this his care follows after those things which are really essential and needful; it is his portion in some measure to understand the hidden wisdom of the Divine laws; whence comes intelligence for the whole mind, and this enables him to carry out good works from the Lord, and to receive the truths of the Church.
And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.	Hence comes the affirmation of all truth in the mind, and its power: which springs from the good now formed in the natural principle.
And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess you the west and the south.	Hence also come victory in temptations, and consolation and benediction from the Divine love after them, and the consequent affection of truth and illumination thence. (See AE 439.)
And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.	And it is perceived that felicity of life and delight of the affections come from this source above all others; whence all things in the soul are in agreement and act together, which causes even the lowest principles of the mind to be filled with celestial delights, and
Your shoes shall be iron and brass; and as your days, so shall your strength be.	Things corporeal and worldly to be in agreement with the principles of good and truth; and fortifies the mind for every state. (See also AE 438.)
There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides upon the heaven in your help, and in his excellency on the sky.	There is none like the Lord, who in His Humanity leads and wars for those regenerating, who is present in the interiors of the soul for their help, and by His Divine power is ever operating through Providence for their good.
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before you; and shall say, Destroy them.	Who thus fills the angels with all their life and power from truth Divine, and hence is all life and strength also to men in the world; and He shall thrust out all evil and falsity from the soul, and they shall be destroyed.
Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.	The spiritual man shall then be without infestation from evils and falses, and shall be led by the Lord alone; and the Divine Word shall be opened, and from it good and truth shall flow forth into the Church and each individual soul that will receive them, and they shall be recruited by continual influx from heaven.
Happy are you, O Israel: who is like you, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help, and who is the sword of your excellency! and your enemies shall be found liars to you; and you shall tread upon their high places.	Blessed is the man regenerated by the Lord; who is like him? a man saved by the immediate care of the Lord, who is the defence of his help, and his irresistible weapon of offence against all evil and falsity! he shall see the folly of all the false principles that entice him; and shall trample their power under foot.