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Matthew Chapter 5

Chapter V.

1. And seeing the multitudes, He went up into the mountain; and when He was sat, His disciples came to Him.
2. And opening His mouth He taught them, saying,
3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
4. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be satisfied.
7. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.
10. Blessed are they that are persecuted for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
11. Blessed are you when they shall revile you, and persecute, and say every evil saying against you, telling lies, for My sake.
12. Rejoice you and he glad, for your reward is much in the heavens; for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.
13. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its savour, with which shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14. You are the light of the world. A city cannot be hid that is set on a mountain.
15. Neither do they light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on a candlestick, and it shines to all that are in the house.
16. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father that is in the heavens.
17. Think not that I am come to dissolve the law or the prophets: I am not come to dissolve but to fulfill.
18. For verily I say to you, Till the heaven and the earth pass away, one iota or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all things be done.
19. Whosoever therefore shall loosen one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whoever shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.
20. For I say to you, that unless your justice shall exceed the justice of the scribes and pharisees, you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
21. You have heard that it was declared to the ancients, You shalt not kill; but whoever shall kill, shall he liable to the judgement.
22. But I say to you, That every one who is angry with his brother rashly, shall be liable to the judgement; but whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the council; but whoever shall say, You fool, shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire.
23. If therefore you bring your gift to the altar, and them remember that your brother has aught against you;
24. Leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25. Be well-minded to your accuser quickly, whilst you are in the way with him, lest at any time the accuser deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.
26. Verily I say to you, You shall by no means come out thence, until you have paid the last farthing.
27. You have heard that it was declared to the ancients, You shall not commit adultery.
28. But I say to you, That every one who looks at a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29. But if your right eye scandalize you, pluck it out, and cast from thee: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not your whole body be cast into hell.
30. And if your right hand scandalize you, cut it off, and cast from thee: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not your whole body be cast into hell.
31. It has been said, That whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorcement:
32. But I say to you, That whoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever shall marry her that is put away, commits adultery.
33. Again, you have heard that it has been declared to the ancients, Thou shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths.
34. But I say to you, Swear not at all; neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God;
35. Nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
36. Neither shall you swear by the head, because you can not make one hair white or black.
37. But let your word be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: but whatever is beyond these is from the evil.
38. You have heard that it has been declared, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39. But I say to you, Resist not the evil; but whoever shall smite you on your right cheek-bone, turn to him the other also.
40. And if any man will sue you at the law and take your coat, let him have the cloak also.
41. And whoever shall compel you to go one mile, go with him two.
42. Give to him that asks you; and him that would borrow of you turn not away.
43. You have heard that it has been declared, You shall love your neighbour, and shall hate your enemy.
44. But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for those that despitefully use you and persecute you.
45. That you may be sons of your Father that is in the heavens, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
46. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same?
47. And if you embrace your brethren only, what do you more abundantly? Do not even the publicans so?
48. Be you therefore perfect, as your Father that is in the heavens is perfect.

EXPOSITION.

Chapter V.

verse 3. Blessed are the poor, &c. - By the poor, in the spiritual sense of the Word, are principally understood those who are not in the knowledges of what is good and true, and yet desire them, because by the rich are understood such as are possessed of the knowledges of things good and true. AE 209. See also D. Lord. 49.

To be spiritually poor is to acknowledge in heart that no one knows, understands, and is wise of himself, but that what every one knows, understands, and is wise in, is all from the Lord; in such acknowledgment are all the angels of heaven, on which account also they are intelligent and wise, and in that degree in which they are in the acknowledgment and perception that it is so; for they know and perceive that nothing of truth which is called [the truth] of faith, and nothing of good which is of love, is from themselves, but from the Lord, and that all things which they understand, and in which they are wise, have reference to the truth of faith and to the good of love; hence also they know that they have all intelligence and wisdom from the Lord; and inasmuch as they know and acknowledge this, and also will and love it, therefore Divine Truth from the Lord, which is the source of all intelligence and wisdom, continually flows in, and they receive its intelligence and wisdom so far as they are affected by it, that is, so far as they love it. AE 118.

Verse 5. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.-The inheritance of the earth does not signify the possession of the earth, but the possession of heaven and of the blessedness therein; the meek signify those who are in the good of charity. AE 304.

Verse 6. Blessed are they that hunger, &c. - Hunger signifies a desire to know and understand the truths and goods of the church; and by the hungry and thirsty are signified those who continually desire truths, and to be perfected by them. AE 323.AE 118. To hunger after justice signifies to desire good, for in the Word justice is predicated of good. AE 386.

Verse 7. Blessed are the merciful, &c. - The Lord is present in neighbourly love, because He is in all that is good, but not so in faith, as it is called, without love; faith without love and charity is somewhat separate or disjoined: wherever there is conjunction, there must needs be a conjoining medium, which alone is love and charity; this may appear to every one from this consideration, that the Lord is merciful to every one, and loves every one, and desires to make every one eternally happy; whoever, therefore, is not principled in such love, as to be merciful towards others, to love others, and to desire to make others happy, he cannot be joined with the Lord, because there is dissimilitude or unlikeness, and not the smallest traces of an image of the Lord. AC 904. See also AC 2258, 2417.

Verse 8. Blessed are the pure in heart, &c. - Illustration comes from the Lord alone, and is afforded to those who love truths for truth's sake, and apply them to the uses of life: none else can receive illustration from the Word. The reason why illustration comes from the Lord alone is, because He is in all things of the Word; and the reason of its being afforded only to those who love truths for truth's sake, and apply them to the uses of life is, because they are in the Lord, and the Lord in them. For the Lord is His own Divine Truth ; and when this is loved for its own sake, which is the case when it is applied to use, then the Lord is in it, and is thus present with the man. This the Lord teaches in John: "At that day you shall know that you are in Me, and I in you. He that has My commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves Me; - and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. And my Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." John 14:20, 21, 23. And in Matthew: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matt 5:8. These are they who are in illustration when they read the Word, and to whom the Word appears in its brightness and transparence. SS 57. See also DLW 66, 67. DP 33.

Shall see God. - By seeing God, is signified to be gifted with intelligence and faith; for to see, in the internal sense, is to see spiritually, and to see spiritually is to see from faith. AC 9411.

That man ought to be in the Lord, He Himself teaches in John: "The glory which You gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfect in one; and that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them," John 17:22, 23, 26; from which it is evident that they are perfect when the Lord is in them. Those are they who are called the pure in heart, who shall see God; and the perfect as their Father in the heavens. D.L. 84.

Verse 9. Blessed are the peacemakers, &c. - When spiritual things are appropriated to the natural man, then those things recede which appertain to the lust of evil and the persuasion of what is false, consequently those things which induce restlessness; and those things have access which appertain to the affection of good and of truth, consequently those things which cause peace; for all restlessness arises from what is evil and false, and all peace from what is good and true. To speak for peace denotes to will well to any one; for, by peace the ancients meant, in the supreme sense, the Lord Himself; in the internal sense, His kingdom and life in Him, or salvation; but in the external sense, safety in the world, or health. AC 3170, 4681.

Verses 10, 11, 12. Blessed are they who are persecuted, &c. These words relate to those who fight and conquer in temptations induced from the evil, thus from hell; temptations are signified by reviling, persecuting, saying an evil saying, telling lies for the sake of Christ, for temptations are assaults and infestations of truth and good by falses and evils; by Christ is meant the Divine Truth from the Lord, which is assaulted, and for the sake of which they are infested; rejoice and exult because your reward is much in the heavens, signifies heaven with its joy communicated to those who are in the spiritual affection of truth, for they alone fight and conquer, by reason that the Lord is in that affection, who resists and conquers for man in the combats of temptations; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you, signifies that heretofore, in like manner, they assaulted the truths of doctrine, which appertained to those who were in the spiritual affection of truth; for by prophets, abstractedly from persons, are signified the truths of doctrine derived from the Word, or from the Lord. Hence it may be manifest, that by reward is signified heaven, as to its blessedness, satisfactoriness, and delight, which belongs to those who are in the spiritual affection of truth and good, and that the reward is that affection itself; for whether we speak of that affection or of heaven, it is the same thing, inasmuch as heaven is in that affection and from it. AE 695; also AE 122.

To live according to order, is to live according to the commandments of God; and when a man so lives and does, he then procures for himself righteousness; not the righteousness of redemption as effected by the Lord, but the Lord Himself as his righteousness. These are they who are pointed at by these words: "Unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven," Matt 5:19; "Blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, for their's is the kingdom of heaven." Matt 5:10. TCR 96. Verse 13. You are the salt of the earth, &c. - By the salt of the earth is meant the truth of the church, which desires good; by salt which has lost its savour is signified truth without desire to good; that such truth is profitable for nothing, is described by its being cast out and trodden under foot; to desire good is to desire to do good, and thereby to be conjoined with good. AC 9207, 10300.

Verses 14, 15. You are the light of the world, &c. - These words were spoken to the disciples, by whom are signified all truths and goods in the complex; wherefore it is said, you are the light of the world, for by light is signified Divine Truth and the intelligence thence derived; inasmuch as these things were signified by the expression, you are the light of the world, it is therefore said, a city set on a mountain cannot be hid, neither do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel; for by a city sat on a mountain is signified the truth of doctrine derived from the good of love; and by a lamp, in general, truth derived from good and the intelligence thence. AE 223. 405.

Verse 16. Let your light so shine, &c.-That the light in the heavens is spiritual, and that that light is Divine Truth, may also be concluded from this consideration, that man likewise has spiritual light, and that from that light he has illustration so far as he is in intelligence and wisdom from Divine Truth; the spiritual light of man is the light of his understanding, the objects of which are truths, which he arranges analytically into orders, forms into reasons, and from them makes conclusions in a series. HH 130.

That they may see your good works, &c. - In regard to works the case is this, unless they correspond to the good of faith, they are not works of charity, nor works of faith, for they do not proceed from their internal principle, but are dead works, in which there is neither good nor truth; whereas when they correspond, they are then works either of charity or of faith: works of charity are what flow from charity as from their soul; but works of faith are what flow from faith; the former, namely, works of charity, have place with the regenerate man, whereas works of faith have place with him who is not yet regenerate, but who is in the process of regeneration; the case herein is as with the two affections, namely, the affection of good and the affection of truth; the regenerate man does good from the affection thereof, thus from a will to good, whereas the man, who is in the process of regeneration, does good from the affection of truth, thus from a knowledge of what is good: what the difference is between these two affections has been often shown above; hence it is evident what constitutes good works. From these considerations it follows, that whosoever professes faith, and especially whoever professes the good of faith, and denies works, is without faith, and still more without charity, particularly if he rejects works. Inasmuch as this is the case respecting works of charity and of faith, it is absolutely impossible for man to be in charity and faith, unless he be in works, therefore in the Word so frequent mention is made of works, as may appear from the following passages: Jer 32:19, 35:15; Hosea 4:9; Micah 7:13; Rev 22:12; John 3:19-21; Matt 5:16. AC 3934. The Divine Good is understood by the Father in the Heavens. AE 254.

Verses 17, 18. Think not that I am come, &c. - These things, and what the Lord in other places says concerning the fulfilling of the law or the Scripture, involve, as was said, those things which were predicted of Him in the internal sense; in that sense all and singular things, even to every iota, or to every smallest apex, treat of the Lord; wherefore it is said that one iota or one tittle shall not pass away in the law until all things be effected. AC 7933.

He who does not know the arcana of the Word, believes that the Lord was made justice by fulfilling all things of the law, and that by that fulfilment He delivered the human race from the yoke of the law, thus from damnation; whereas this is not the sense of those words, but that He was made justice by the subjugation of the hells, the reduction of the heavens to order, and by the glorification of His Humanity; for by this latter He let Himself into the power, that from His Divine Humanity He might to eternity subjugate the hells and keep the heavens in order, and thereby regenerate man, that is, deliver him from hell and save him. AC 10239.

Verse 18. One iota or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, &c. - That the Lord whilst in the world, fulfilled all the contents of the Word, even to its minutest particulars, is evident from His own words, Matt 5:18. D. Lord 11. The subject treated of in xx., xxi., xxii., xxiii. of the book of Exodus is concerning the laws, judgements, and statutes, which were promulgated from mount Sinai, and it has been shown what they contain in the internal sense, thus how they are perceived in heaven, namely, that they are not perceived according to the literal sense, but according to the spiritual sense, which does not appear in the letter, but still is in it: he who does not know how the case really is, may suppose that the Word, as to the literal sense, is thereby annihilated, by reason that no attention is paid to it in heaven; but it is to be noted, that the literal sense of the Word is in no wise thereby annihilated, but is rather confirmed, and that singular the expressions derive weight and sanctity from the spiritual sense which is in them, inasmuch as the literal sense is a basis and support on which the spiritual sense leans, and with which it coheres in the closest conjunction, inasmuch as there is not even an iota, or apex, or tittle in the letter of the Word, which does not contain in it a holy Divine principle, according to the words of the Lord in Matthew: "Verily I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one iota or one tittle shall not pass from the law, till all things be done," Matt 5:18; and in Luke: "It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for one apex of the law to fail," Matt 16:17; that the law is the Word, see AC 6752, 7462; therefore, also, by the Divine Providence of the Lord it has come to pass, that the Word has been preserved as to every iota and apex, from the time in which it was written, especially the Word of the Old Testament; it has been shown from heaven, that in the Word not only every expression, but also every syllable, and what is incredible, every tittle, of a syllable in the original tongue involves a holy principle, which is made perceptible to the angels of the inmost heaven; that this is so, I can take upon me to assert, but I know that it surpasses belief. Hence it is evident, that indeed the external rituals of the church, which [rituals] represented the Lord and the internal things of heaven and of the church which are from the Lord, and which are treated of in the Word of the Old Testament, have been for the most part repealed, but that still the Word in its Divine sanctity remains, since, as has been said, all and singular things therein still involve holy Divine things, which are perceived in heaven whilst that Word is reading; for in singular things there is an internal holy principle, which is the internal sense of the Word, or the celestial and Divine sense; this sense is the soul of the Word, and is the Divine Truth itself proceeding from the Lord, thus it is the Lord Himself. From these considerations it may be manifest how the case is with the laws, the judgements, and the statutes which were promulgated by the Lord from Mount Sinai, namely, that all and singular the things therein are holy, because in the internal form they are holy, but still that some of them are repealed as to use at this day where the church is, which is an internal church; but some of them are of such a nature that they may serve for use if [the church] be so disposed; and some of them are altogether to be observed and done: nevertheless those which are repealed as to use where the church is, and those which may serve for use if [the church] be so disposed, and also those which are altogether to be observed and done, are alike holy in the holy internal principle, for the Word throughout is in its bosom Divine. The holy internal principle is what the internal sense teaches, and is the same thing with the internals of the Christian church, which the doctrine of charity and faith teaches. That these things may be presented to the apprehension, let the laws, the judgements, and the statues treated of in xx. xxi. xxii. xxiii. of the book of Exodus, serve for illustration: The things therein, which are altogether to be observed and done, are what are contained in Exod 20:3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 20; Exod 21:12, 14, 15, 20; Exod 22:17, 18 19, 27; Exod 23:1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 24, 25, 32. Those things which may serve for use if [the church] be so disposed, are such as are contained in Exod 20:10; Exod 21:18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37; Exod 22:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 30; Exod 23:4, 5, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 33. But those which are repealed as to use at this day where the church is, in Exod 20:21, 22, 23; Exod 21:2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 21, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32; Exod 22:14, 28, 29; Exod 23:10, 11, 17, 18, 19.* But, as was said above, the latter and the former are alike holy, or alike the Divine Word. AC 9349. See also HH 260. & SS 90.

* In consulting these verses, the reader is requested to refer to the division of verses adopted by the Author, which differs, in many cases, from that of the common English version.

Verse 19-24. Whosoever shall do and teach, he shall be great in the kingdom of the heavens, &c. - The subject treated of in this chapter throughout is concerning the interior life of man, which is the life of his soul, consequently of his will and thought thence derived, thus concerning the life of charity, which is spiritual-moral life; which life the sons of Jacob were before ignorant of by reason that they wore external men even from their fathers: on this account also they were held to live in external worship, according to statutes which were external, representing the internal things of worship and of the church; but the Lord in this chapter teaches, that the interior things of the church were not only to be represented by external actions, but also that with the soul and with the heart they were to be loved and done. Wherefore, that he will be saved who from interior life doeth and teaches the external things of the church, is signified by him who does and teaches being called great in the kingdom of the heavens; that unless there be internal life and thence external, heaven is not in man, and hence he is not received in heaven, is signified by, unless your justice shall exceed the justice of the scribes and pharisees you shall not enter into the kingdom of the heavens; by justice is signified the good of life derived from the good of charity, and by, exceeding that of the scribes and pharisees is signified that there must be internal life, and not external without internal; the scribes and pharisees were only in external representatives, and not in internal things. Life external and internal is taught in the precepts of the decalogue, which says, you shall not kill; but they were ignorant that to will to kill a man is to kill him, wherefore, it is first said, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, you shall not kill, and whoever shall kill shall be liable to the judgement. For a sentiment has prevailed amongst the Jews from ancient time that it was allowable to kill, especially the Gentiles, on account of injuries done to themselves, and that for this they would be punished only lightly or severely according to circumstances as to enmities, consequently only as to the body, and not as to the soul; this is meant by being liable to the judgement. That he who without just cause thinks amiss of his neighbour, and averts himself from the good of charity is lightly chastised as to the soul, is signified by, whosoever is angry with his brother rashly shall be liable to the judgment: to be angry signifies to think amiss, for it is distinguished from saying Raca, and saying you fool; brother is neighbour, and also the good of charity, and to be liable to judgement, is to be enquired into and chastised according to circumstances; that he who from depraved thought is contumelious to his neighbour, thus who despises the good of charity as a vile thing, would be more grievously chastised, is signified by, whoever shall say to his brother Raca shall be liable to the council; by saying Raca is signified to be contumelious to a neighbour, thus to account the good of charity a vile thing, for to say Raca signifies to account as empty, thus as vile; and brother is the good of charity; that he who hates his neighbour, thus who is altogether averse from the good of charity, is damned to hell, is signified by whoever shall say you fool shall be liable to the gehenna of fire; to say you fool is to be altogether averse from, brother is the good of charity, and the gehenna of fire is hell, where they are who hate that good and thence hate their neighbour: three degrees of hatred are described by those words; the first is of depraved thought, which is to be angry,: the second is of depraved intention thence derived, which is to say Raca; and the third is of depraved will, which is to say you fool: all these degrees are degrees of hatred against the good of charity, for hatred is opposite to the good of charity, and three degrees of punishment are signified by the judgement, the council, and the gehenna of fire; punishments for lighter evils are signified by the judgement, punishments for weightier evils are signified by the council, and punishments for the weightiest evils are signified by the gehenna of fire. Inasmuch as the universal heaven is in the good of charity towards the neighbour, and the universal hell is in anger, enmity, and hatred against the neighbour, and hence these evils are opposite to that good, and whereas the worship of the Lord is worship from heaven, which is internal, and it is no worship if anything of it be from hell, and yet external worship without internal is from hell; it is therefore said, if you offer your gift upon the altar, and there rememberest that your brother has aught against you, go away, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift upon the altar; by gift upon the altar, is signified the worship of the Lord from love and charity; by brother is meant neighbour, and, abstractedly, is signified the good of charity; by having aught against thee is signified anger, enmity, or hatred; and by being reconciled, is signified their dissipation, and consequent conjunction by love. AE 746.

Verse 19. The same shall be called great. - They who are principled in doctrinals, and not so much in life, know no other than that the heavenly kingdom is similar to kingdoms on earth in this respect, that they become great there by ruling over others, the delight thence arising being the only delight which they are acquainted with, and which they prefer to every other delight, wherefore the Lord spoke according to that appearance, also in the Word, as in Matthew: "He who doeth and teaches, shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens;" and in David, "I said, you are gods, and you are all the sons of the Highest," Psalm 82:6; John 10:34, 35; and since the disciples themselves in the beginning had no other opinion of the heavenly kingdom than of greatness and preeminence, as on earth, as is manifest from Matthew 18:1; Mark 9:34; Luke 9:46; and also the idea of sitting on the right hand and left of a king; Matthew 20:20, 21, 24; Mark 10:37; therefore also the Lord answered according to their apprehension, and also according to their mind [animus], saying (when there was a dispute amongst them who of them should be greatest) "You shall eat and drink on My table in My kingdom, and shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel," Luke 22:24,30; Matt 19:28; for at that time they did not know that heavenly delight was not a delight of greatness and pre-eminence, but a delight of humiliation, and of. affection to serve others, thus that it consisted not in willing to be greatest, but to be least, as the Lord teaches in Luke: "Whosoever is the least amongst you, he shall be great," Luke 9:48; and indeed the least become great, pre-eminent, powerful, and commanding respectively, for one the angels is more powerful than myriads of infernal spirits, yet not of himself, but from the Lord; and so far from the Lord, as he believes that he can do nothing himself, thus that he is the least; and he is so far able to believe this, as he is in humiliation and the affection of serving others, that is, as he is in the good of love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour. AC 3417.

Verse 20. Except your justice exceed the justice of the scribes and pharisees, &c. - Our Lord teaches in these words, that unless a man be inwardly sincere, just, faithful, and upright, he is insincere, unjust, unfaithful, and not upright. By a justice exceeding that of the scribes and pharisees, is meant an interior justice, in which the man is who is in the Lord; that he is in the Lord, he also teaches in John: "The glory which You have given Me, I have given them, that they may be one as We are one, I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfect in one, and that the love with which You hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them," John 17:22, 23, 26; from which it appears that they are perfect when the Lord is in them; those are they who are called pure in heart, who shall see God, and are perfect as their Father in heaven is perfect. Matt 5:8, 48. DLife 84. See AC 7197.

Verse 21, 22, - You have heard that it was said, &c.-By these words are meant degrees of hatred. Hatred is contrary to charity, and if it does not murder with the hand, yet it does so in the mind, and by all possible methods, being only prevented from committing the outward act by outward restraints. AC 374.

To shed blood, in a literal sense, is to kill, but in an internal sense, it is to bear hatred against a neighbour, as the Lord teaches in Matthew 5:21, 22, to be angry here signifies to depart from charity, consequently it is hatred; he who is in hatred, not only has no charity, but he offers violence to charity. AC 1010, 1011.

But the more remote sense of this precept "You shall not kill," which is called the spiritual sense, is, You shall not take away from man the faith and love of God, and thereby his spiritual life, this being very homicide itself, for by virtue of this life man is man, the life of his body serving thereto as the instrumental cause to its principal cause. From this spiritual homicide also is derived the moral homicide, wherefore he who is in one, is also in the other, for he who willeth to take away man's spiritual life is in hatred against him if he cannot take it away, for he hates his faith and love, and thus, the man himself. Those three, namely, spiritual homicide, which is of the faith and love, moral homicide, which is of fame and honour, and natural homicide which is of the body, are consequent in a series, one from the other, as cause and effect. AE 1012.

Verses 23-26. If you bring your gift to the altar, &c.-By being delivered to the judge, and from the judge to the officer, and from this being cast into prison, is described the state of the man who is in hatred against his brother in the world; by the prison is understood hell, and by paying the uttermost farthing, is signified the punishment which is called eternal fire. AE 1015.

By offering a gift upon the altar, in the spiritual sense, is understood to worship God, and by worshiping God is understood the worship which is both internal and external, namely, which is of love and faith, and thence of life; this is understood because worship in the Jewish church principally consisted in offering sacrifices or gifts upon the altar, and what is principal is assumed for the whole; hence then it may appear how these words of the Lord are to be understood in the spiritual sense, namely, that Divine worship primarily consisted in charity towards our neighbour; and not in piety without charity; to offer a gift upon the altar denotes worship from piety, and to be reconciled to our brother denotes worship from charity, and this latter is truly worship: and that the quality of the latter constitutes the quality of the former, see Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, 123 to 129, 325. AE 391. See also D.L. 73.

Verse 24. First be reconciled to your brother, &c. - By reconciliation with a brother, the Lord teaches the good of love: to be reconciled to our brother is to shun enmity, hatred, and revenge; that it is to shun those evils as sins is manifest: the Lord also teaches, that to kill is to be rashly angry with our brother or neighbour, and to esteem him as an enemy. DLife 73.

Then come and offer your gift. - By offering a gift on the altar is signified all Divine worship, by reason that Divine worship, with the Jewish nation consisted principally in offering burnt-offerings and sacrifices, by which were therefore signified all things of worship. Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, 214, 221. Worship does not consist in prayers and in external devotion, but in a life of charity; prayers are only its externals, for they proceed from man by [or through] his mouth, wherefore such as the man is as to life, such are his prayers; it is of no consequence that he puts himself in a posture of humility, kneeling on his knees and groaning when he prays, for these are external things, and unless external things proceed from internal, they are only gestures and sounds, without life; there is affection in singular the things which man speaks, and every man, spirit, and angel is his own affection, for the affection of each is his life; it is the affection itself which speaks, and not the man without it, wherefore, such as the affection is, such is the prayer.; Spiritual affection is what is called charity towards the neighbour, in that case there is true worship, prayer is what proceeds from it; hence it may be manifest, that the essential of worship is a life of charity, and its instrumental is gesture and. prayer, or that the life of charity is the primary of worship, and prayer is its secondary from which consideration it is evident, that they who place all Divine worship in oral piety, and not in actual piety, are in a great error; actual piety consists in acting from a principle of sincerity and rectitude, and from a principle of justice and equity in every work and in every function, and this because it is commanded by the Lord in the Word, for thus man in all his work has respect to heaven and to the Lord, with whom he is thereby conjoined: but to act with sincerity and rectitude, with justice and equity, merely from the fear of the law, or the loss of reputation, of honor, and of gain, without at all thinking of the Divine Law, of the precepts of the Word, and of the Lord, and yet to pray devoutly in temples, is external piety, which, however holy it appears, is still not piety, but is either hypocrisy, or is some pretence derived from habit, or is something persuasive grounded in a false principle that Divine worship consists in that alone, for it does not look to heaven and to the Lord with the heart, but only with the eyes, the heart looks to self and to the world, and the mouth speaks from habit of the body alone and its memory; by such worship man is conjoined to the world and not to heaven, and to self and not to the. Lord. AE 825.

Verses 27, 28. You shall not commit adultery, &c.-By committing adultery is to be understood, not only whoredom in the natural sense, but also obscene actions, wanton discourses, and filthy thoughts; but by committing adultery in the spiritual sense is understood to adulterate the goods of the Word, and to falsify its truths; and in the supreme sense, by committing adultery is understood to deny the Divinity of the Lord, and to profane the Word. That by committing adultery is understood to do obscene things, to speak wantonly, and to think filthily, appears from the words of the Lord in Matthew: "I say to you, that every one who looks at a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart." DLife 74, 78. See also C.S.L.494. DP 111, 152.

That coveteousness [or craving] is of the will, thus of the heart, is manifest from the Lord's words in Matthew, "You have heard that it was said to the ancients, you shall not commit adultery; but I say to you, that if any one looks on a strange woman so as to covet [or lust after] her, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart," Matt 5:27, 28;. by coveting [or lusting after] is here meant to will, and unless fears, which are external restraints, hindered to do; hence it is said, that whoever looks at a woman so as to covet [or lust after] her, has committed adultery with her in his heart. A. C. 8910.

Verses 29, 30. If your right eye offend you, pluck it out, &c. - That by the right eye and by the right hand, the Lord did not mean the right eye and the right hand, must be plain to every one from this consideration, that it is said, that the eye is to be plucked out, and that the hand is to be cut off, if they should scandalize; but inasmuch as by the eye, in the spiritual sense, is signified all that which is of the understanding and thence of the thought, and by the right hand all that which is of the will and thence of the affection, it may be manifest that by plucking out the right eye, if it should scandalize, is signified that evil should be rejected from the thought, if it entered into the thought; and by cutting off the right hand, if it should scandalize, is signified that evil, should be dislodged from the will, if it entered into the will; for the eye itself cannot scandalize, nor the right hand, but scandal conies from the thought of the understanding, and the affection of the will, which correspond thereto : the reason why it is said the right eye and the right hand, and not the left eye and the left hand is, because by right is signified good, and in the opposite sense evil, but by left is signified truth, and in the opposite sense the false; and all scandalizing comes from evil, but not from the false, unless the false be the false of evil: that these things are said of the internal man, whose property it is to think and will, and not of the external whose property it is to see and act, may be manifest from what goes immediately before concerning a woman, that only to look at her from craving is to commit adultery. AE 600.

The left eye is the intellectual principle, but the right eye is the affection of that principle; by the right eye therefore being plucked out is denoted, that the affection, if it offends, is to be subdued. AC 2701.

From these words it is further manifest in what manner the Lord spake, namely, from the Divine [being or principle] as in other passages of the Word throughout, thus that He expressed internal and celestial things by external and natural things, according to correspondences, in this case the affection of evil, or its craving by the right eye scandalizing, and the affection of the false and its craving by the right hand scandalizing; for the eye corresponds to faith, the left eye to the truth of faith, and the right eye to the good of faith; in the opposite sense to the evil which is of faith, thus the right eye scandalizing, to the craving of evil, AC 4403 to 4421, AC 4523 to 4534; but the hand corresponds to the power which is of truth, the right hand to the power of truth from good, in the opposite sense to the power of false from evil, thus the right hand scandalizing, to the concupiscence thereof, AC 4931 to 4937, AC 8281. Gehenna is the hell of concupiscence; every one may see that in this passage, by the right eye is not meant the right eye; nor is it meant that that eye should be plucked out; also that by the right hand is not meant the right hand, and that it is to be cut off, but that something else is meant, which cannot be known unless it be known what is signified by the eye, specifically by the right eye, also what by hand, specifically by the right hand, and likewise what by scandalizing; neither can it be known what is signified by those expressions except from the internal sense. AC 8910, 10061.

Verses 31, 32. Whosoever shall put away his wife, &c. - By divorce is meant the abolition of the conjugial covenant, and thence a plenary separation, and after this an entire liberty to marry another wife, the only cause of this total separation or divorce, is scortation, according to the Lord's precept, Matt 19:9.... To these things may be added malicious desertion, which involves scortation, and causes the wife to commit whoredom, and thereby to be divorced, Matt 5:32. CL 468.

Verses 33-37. You have heard that it has been said, You shall not swear, &c. - It was allowed to the ancients, who were in the representatives and significatives of the church, to swear by Jehovah God, that they might testify the truth, and thus by that oath was signified, that they thought what was true and willed what was good: this was especially allowed to the sons of Jacob, inasmuch as they were altogether external and natural men, and not internal and spiritual; and merely external or natural men are willing to have truth confirmed and testified by oaths; but internal or spiritual men are unwilling to admit of such confirmation, yea, they hold oaths in aversion, and think of them with horror, especially of those which have God for their object, and the holy things of heaven and the church, being content to say and to have it said that such a thing is true, or that it is so. Inasmuch as to swear is not of the internal or spiritual man, and inasmuch as the Lord, when He came into the world, taught men to be internal and spiritual," and for this end, after that He had abrogated the externals of the church, He opened its internals, therefore also He prohibited swearing by God and by the holy things of heaven and the church; Matt 5:33-37: the holy things by which men are not to swear, are there mentioned, namely, heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and the head; and by heaven is meant the angelic heaven, wherefore it is called the throne of God; by earth is meant the church, wherefore it is called God's footstool; by Jerusalem is meant the doctrine of the church, wherefore it is called the city of the Great King; and by head is meant intelligence thence derived, wherefore it is said, you cannot not make one hair white or black, by which is signified that man of himself cannot understand any thing. It is said in the Word that Jehovah God, or the Lord, swears, but this is only according to the sense of the letter, for it is not suitable to God Himself or the Divine Truth to swear; but when God or the Divine Truth wills to have anything confirmed before men, then that confirmation descending into a natural sphere falls into an oath, or into the usual form of an oath in the world; hence it is evident, that although God never swears, still in the sense of the letter of the Word, which sense is natural, it is said that He swears. AE 608.

The Lord's Word concerning an oath involves, that Divine Truths are to be confirmed from the Lord, and not from man, which is the case when men are internal and not external; for external men confirm truths by oaths, but internal men by reasons; they who are still more interior men do not confirm them, but only say that it is so, or that it is not so; external men are those who are called natural men; internal those who are called spiritual men; and still interior, those who are called celestial men: that these latter, namely, the celestial, perceive from the Lord whether a thing be true or not true, see AC 2708, 2715, 2718, 3246, 4448, 7877; from these considerations it is evident what is involved in the Lord's words, "You shall not swear at all;" also,"Let your discourse be Yea, yea; Nay, nay." AC 9166. See also AC 2842, 5228. HH 271.

Verses 34, 35. God's throne, &c. - The reason why by a throne is signified what is of the Divine Truth, is because by king in the word is signified truth, and also by kingdom: that by king may be seen, AC 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068; that by kingdom may be seen, AC 1672, 2547, 4691: but what is specifically meant by throne in the Word is manifest from the series of things treated of, as in Matt 5:34, 35. AC 5313.

The reason that Jerusalem was called the City of God, was, because by God in the Word of the Old Testament is understood the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord-and the reason why it was called the City of the Great King, was because by King, when predicated of the Lord, is likewise signified Divine Truth proceeding from Him, which also may be seen above, 31. AE 223.

Verses 36, 37. You can not make one hair black or white. This is mentioned by the Lord as the reason against swearing by the head, because to swear by the head is to swear by the truth, which man himself believes to be truth, and makes the truth of his faith, for that constitutes the head with man, and is also signified by the head in Isaiah 15:2, 29:10; and in Ezekiel 7:18, 13:18, 16:12, 29:18; and in Matthew 6:17, and in other places; wherefore also it is added, because you can not make one hair black or white; for hair is the truth of the external or natural man, such as appertains to those who are in the truth of faith, not because they perceive that it is truth, but because the church so teaches; and whereas they do not know it from any other ground, it is said that they ought not to swear by it, because they cannot make a hair white or black; for to make a hair white is to say that truth is truth from self; and to make a hair black is to say the false is false from self; for white is predicated of truth, 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319, and hence black of the false. From these considerations it is now evident what is meant by not swearing at all, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by a man's own head, namely, that Truth Divine ought not to be confirmed from man, but from the Lord with man; therefore it is lastly said, "Let your discourse be Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatever is beyond these is from evil;" for they who from the Lord perceive and see truth, do not otherwise confirm it; this is the case with the angels of the inmost or third heaven, who are called celestial angels. That discourse beyond these is from evil, is because what is more is not from the Lord, but from the proprium of man, thus from evil, for the proprium of man is nothing but evil. See AC 210, 215, 874, 875, 876, 987, 1023, 10441047, 3812; 4328, 5665, 8941, 8944. AC 9166 and DP 219. See also HH 271. By a hair in the Word is signified the least of all things. DP 159.

Verses 38-42. You have heard that it has been said. An eye for an eye, and, a tooth for a tooth: but I say to you, Resist not evil, &c. - That these words are not to be understood according to the letter, is evident to every one; for who is under any obligation from Christian love, to turn the left cheek to him who strikes the right, and to give his cloak to him who is desirous to take his coat? In a word, who is there to whom it is not allowed to resist evil? But whereas all things that the Lord spoke were in themselves Divine celestial things, it may be manifest that a celestial sense is contained in these words, as in the rest which the Lord spoke: the reason why the law was enacted amongst the sons of Israel, that they should give an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, Exod 21:23, 24; Levit 24:20; Deut 19:21; was because they were external men, and hence only in the representatives of celestial things, and not in the celestial things themselves, hence, neither in charity, mercy, patience, nor in any other spiritual good, therefore they were in the law of retaliation: for the celestial law, and hence the Christian law, is what the Lord taught in the Evangelists: "All things whatever you are willing that men should do to you, even so do you to them, for this is the law and the prophets." Matt 7:12; Luke 6:30. Inasmuch as this law is in heaven, and from heaven in the church, hence also every evil has along with it corresponding punishment, which is called the punishment of evil, and which is in it as conjoined with the evil; from this flowed the punishment of retaliation, which was dictated to the sons of Israel, because they were external men and not internal: internal men, as are the angels of heaven, do not will the recompense of evil for evil, but from heavenly charity forgive, for they know that the Lord protects all who are in good against the evil, and that he protects according to the good belonging to them, and that He would not protect, if by reason of the evil done to themselves, they should be inflamed with enmity, hatred, and revenge, for these [evils] avert protection: these therefore, are the tilings involved in those things which the Lord said; but what they signify, it may be expedient to declare in order; an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, signifies that so far as any one takes away from another the understanding of truth and the sense of truth, so far they will be taken away from himself; by an eye is signified the understanding of truth, and by a tooth the sense of truth, for tooth signifies what is true and false as it appertains to the sensual man. That he who is in Christian good, will permit an evil [person] to take those things away so far as he can, is described by what the Lord replies on the same subject; that evil is not to be resisted, signifies that it is not to be fought against in return, nor recompensed, for the angels do not fight with the evil, still less do they recompense evil for evil, but permit them to do it, because they are protected by the Lord, and hence no evil from hell can hurt them; whoever smites you on your right cheek-bone, turn to him the other also, signifies that if any one is willing to do hurt to the perception and understanding of interior truth, it is permitted, so far as he makes the attempt; by the cheek-bone is signified the perception and understanding of interior truth, by the right cheek-bone the affection, and thence the perception thereof, and by the left cheek-bone the understanding thereof; and because mention is made of the cheek-bone, therefore also mention is made of smiting, by which is meant to do hurt to; for all things which are of the mouth, as the throat, the mouth, the lips, the cheek-bones, the teeth, signify such things as are of the perception and understanding of truth, because they correspond to them; wherefore they are expressed by those things in the sense of the letter of the Word, which consists of mere correspondences: if any one will sue you at law, and take away your coat, let him have thy cloak also, signifies that if any one is willing to take away the interior truth which appertains to you, he shall be allowed also to take away the exterior truth: the coat signifies interior truth, and the cloak exterior truth: the angels also do this when they are with the evil, for the evil cannot take away any thing of truth and good from the angels, but they can from those who on that account burn with enmity, hatred and revenge, for these evils avert and reject protection from the Lord: whoever shall compel you to go one mile, go with him two, signifies that he who is willing to draw away from truth to the false and from good to evil, should. not be opposed, because he cannot do it; by a mile the like is signified as by a way, namely, that which leads astray and that which leads right: give to him that asks you, signifies that it should be permitted; and from him that would borrow of you, turn not away, signifies that if he desires to be instructed, he should be instructed, for the evil desire this that they may pervert and deprive, but still they are not able. This is the spiritual sense of the above words, wherein lie stored up the things which have been now said, which are especially for the angels; who perceive the Word only according to its spiritual sense; they are also for men in the world who are in good, when the evil attempt to seduce them: that the evil are such against those whom the Lord protects, has been given to know from much experience; for they have continually laboured by every method, and endeavoured to deprive me of truths and goods, but in vain. AE 556. See also AC 8223, 9048. Verse 42. Give to him that asketh you, &c. - In the Word, when mention is made of borrowing and lending, it signifies to be instructed and to instruct from the affection of charity as in Matt 5:42. That in this passage by asking, is not meant to ask, is evident, for it is said, give to him that asks you; thus neither by desiring to borrow [is meant to desire to borrow]; for if a man was to give to every one that asks, and also to every one that is desirous to borrow, he would be deprived of all his goods: but inasmuch as the Lord spoke from the Divine [being or principle], by asking and desiring to borrow, and by giving and receiving what is borrowed, is meant the communication of celestial goods, which are the knowledges of good and truth; for in regard to this communication the case is this: the more an angel gives to another from the affection of charity, the more flows in with him from the common [good] out of heaven, that is, from the Lord, AC 6478; thus by giving to him that asks, an angel is not deprived, but enriched with goods; the case is also the same with man, when he does good to another from the affection of charity; but it is charity to give to the good, and it is not charity to give to the evil what they ask and desire. AC 9174.

Verse 48. You shall love your neighbour, &c. - It is with charity and faith in man just as it is with the motion of the heart, which is called its systole and diastole, and the motion of the lungs, which is called respiration. There is also an entire correspondence of these with the will and understanding of man, and of course with charity and faith; for which reason the will and its affection are meant by the heart, when mentioned in the Word, and the understanding and its thought by the term soul, and also by spirit. Hence to yield the breath (or soul) is to retain animation no longer; and to give up the ghost (or spirit) is to respire no longer. From which it follows that there cannot be any faith without charity, nor charity without faith; and that faith without charity is like respiration of the lungs without a heart, which cannot take place in any living thing, but only in an automaton; and that charity without faith is like a heart without lungs, in which case there can be no sense of life: consequently, that charity by faith accomplishes uses, as the heart by the lungs accomplishes actions. So great, indeed, is the similitude between the heart and charity, and between the lungs and faith, that in the spiritual world it is known by a person's breathing, what is the nature of his faith, and by his pulse, what is the nature of his charity. For angels and spirits, as well as men, live by the pulsation of the heart and by respiration; thence it is that they, as well as men in this world, feel, think, act, and speak. Since charity is love towards our neighbour, what our neighbour is shall also be explained. Our neighbour, in a natural sense, is man, both considered in the aggregate and as an individual. Man in the aggregate is the church, our country, and society; and man as an individual is our fellow-citizen, who in the Word is called our brother and companion. But our neighbour, in a spiritual sense, is good or goodness; and as goodness consists in usefulness, our neighbour, in a spiritual sense, is use. That use is our spiritual neighbour, every one must acknowledge. For who loves a man merely as a person, and not rather for something in him, by virtue of which he is what he is? therefore he loves him for his quality, for that is the man. This quality which is loved is his usefulness, and is called goodness: wherefore this is our neighbour. As the Word in its bosom is spiritual, therefore, in its spiritual sense, this love of goodness is what is signified by loving our neighbour, But it is one thing to love our neighbour from the goodness or usefulness that is in him to ourselves, and another thing to love our neighbour from the goodness or usefulness that is in ourselves to him. To love our neighbour from his goodness or usefulness to ourselves, is what a bad man can do as well as a good man; but to love our neighbour from our own goodness or usefulness to him, is what none but a good man can do; for he loves goodness from goodness, or loves usefulness from the affection of usefulness. The difference between these is described by the Lord in Matt 5:42, 43, 44. We often hear it said, "I love such a one because he loves me, and does me good." But to love him for that reason only, is not to love him interiorly, unless he that so loves is principled in good, and thence loves the goodness of the other. The one is in charity; but the other is only in friendship, which is not charity. He who loves his neighbour from charity, connects himself with the good that is in him, and not with his person, except so far and so long as he is in good. Such a man is spiritual, and loves his neighbour spiritually. But he who loves another only from friendship, connects himself with his person; and then he connects himself with the evil that is in him too. The latter, after death, cannot be separated without great difficulty from the person who is in evil, but the former can. Charity does this by faith, because faith is truth; and the man who is in charity examines and discovers, by means of truth, what ought to be loved, and, in loving and conferring benefits, regard's the quality of the other's usefulness. See D.F. 19-21.

Verses 44, 45. Love your enemies, &c. - Charity towards the neighbour is first described, which consists in willing good and doing good even to enemies, by loving them, blessing them, and praying for them, for genuine charity regards nothing but the good of another: in the above words, to love signifies charity, to bless instruction, and to pray intercession; the reason is because the end of charity is to do good; that this is the Divine Itself belonging to man, as it appertains to regenerate men, is signified by the words, that you may be the sons of your Father in the heavens: the Father in the heavens is the Divine Proceeding, for all who receive it are called sons of the Father, that is, of the Lord; by the sun, which He causes to rise on the evil and on the good, is signified the Divine Good flowing in; and by the rain, which He sends on the just and on the unjust, is signified the Divine Truth flowing in; for the Divine Proceeding, which is the Father in the heavens, flows in alike with the evil as, with. the good, but its reception must be by man, although it is not of man himself to receive, but as of himself, for the faculty of receiving is continually given him, and also flows in, so far as man removes opposing evils through the faculty also which is continually given, which faculty appears as Belonging to man, although it is from the Lord in man. AE 644. See also AC 9256.

Verse. 45 That you may be the sons of your Father who is in the heavens, &c. - The subject here treated of is concerning charity towards the neighbour, as is evident from what goes before and from what follows, and specifically concerning the Jews, who accounted the Gentiles as enemies, and those of their own nation as friends: that they should love the Gentiles alike with those of their own nation, is illustrated by the comparison here applied by the Lord; but inasmuch as all comparisons in the Word are grounded in correspondences, and thence derive their signification, like the rest of the things which are not comparatively spoken, this is the case also with this comparison; and by the Father in the heavens causing His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sending rain on the just and unjust, is signified that the Lord out of heaven flows in with the Divine Good of love, and with the Divine Truth, alike with those who are out of the Jewish church, as with those who are within it; the sun also in this passage signifies the good of love, and rain the Divine Truth; the evil and unjust, in the internal sense, signify those who were of the Jewish church, because they did not receive, and the good and just those who were out of that church and did receive: in general all the evil and the good, and the just and unjust are here meant, for the Lord flows in with good and truth alike with all, but all do not alike receive. AE 401. See also DP 173.

It was concerning this good, or concerning this charity that the Lord thus expressed Himself in Matt 5:43, &c. Here is described the good which is from the Lord, as being void of any regard to recompense; wherefore they who are principled in that good, are called sons of the Father who is in the heavens, and sons of the Highest; and whereas the Lord is in that good, there is also a reward in it. AC 2371.

Verse 48. As your Father that is in the heavens is perfect. Frequent mention is made by the Lord of the Father that is in the heavens, and in such case is meant the Divine in heaven, thus the good in which heaven originates: the divine viewed in Himself is above the heavens, but the Divine in the heavens is the good which is in the truth which proceeds from the divine ; this is meant by the Father in the heavens, as where it is written, "Our Father who are in the heavens, hallowed be Your name;" Matt 6:9. "He that does the will of the Father that is in the heavens." Matt 7:21; 10:32, 33; 16:17; 18:10, 14, 19.. The Divine which, is in the heavens is the good which is in the Divine Truth which proceeds from the Lord, but the Divine above the heavens is the Divine Good Itself. AC 8328.

That the Lord is the Sun of heaven, and that the light and heat thence proceeding are the Divine Truth united with the Divine good, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, HH 116 to 125; also, HH 126 to 140; and that heaven is heaven from the Divine [principle] which proceedeth from the Lord, HH 7 to 12; hence it may appear what is understood by the Father in the heavens, and by the heavenly Father, as in Matthew, "Do good to your enemies, that you may be sons of your Father who is in the heavens," Matt 5:44, 45; and again, "Be you perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect." Matt 5:48, AE 254.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Chapter V.

it deserves to be attended to, that the blessings pronounced by the lord in this chapter, verses 3-11, relate to states of the will as to its reception of the good of love and charity, and not to states of the understanding,as to its reception of the doctrines of faith, to teach us the important lesson, that the state of our wills, with regard to the reception of a pure love, is what principally concerns us to regulate. Not that it is to be supposed that the understanding of truth is unconnected with blessedness, and therefore a thing of indifference, for without the knowledge of truth it is impossible to conceive that a state of good can either be formed or preserved: it is only meant, that a state of good ought in all cases to have the pre-eminence: and perhaps for this reason amongst many others, because our reception of truth will always depend on the previous reception of good.

Verse 11. Blessed are you when they shall revile you, and persecute, and say every evil saying against you, telling lies, &c. - This passage supplies another instance of the connection of ideas in the internal sense, when yet in the sense of the letter, they appear scattered and unconnected. For reviling, persecuting, and saying every evil saying against, according to the internal sense, are all included in every one act of opposition to what is good and true; reviling having reference to opposition in the will, persecuting to opposition in the understanding, and saying every evil saying against to opposition in the thought, whilst telling lies is the combined effect of the three former acts united.

Verse 12. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward, &c. - 'The heavenly marriage is here again pointed at; rejoicing having respect to the will of good, and being glad to the understanding of truth, and reward to the possession of both.

Verse 13. You are the salt of the earth.-In the next verse it is said, you are the light of the world, to mark again the heavenly marriage of good and truth; salt in the internal sense denoting the affection of truth, thus its good, and light denoting the truth itself, thus both together denoting conjunction, which is predicated of the lord's disciples, because the reception of the good and truth of the Lord's Word, and the conjunction of those principles in the human mind, is what makes a disciple.

Verse 16. The Father of you that [is] in the heavens.- There is something singular in the manner in which this sentence is expressed in the original Greek, both in this, and other passages where it again occurs, as at verses 45, 48 of this chapter, and verses 1, 6, 9, of chapter vi., and other places. For the original Greek is thus written, rov Trarepa v/jluiv tov kv rots oupaj/ois, which, translated literally into English, reads thus, The Father of you the [or that] in the heavens, which mode of expression cannot be accounted for but from what our enlightened expositor teaches concerning the internal sense, where he shows that the Father in the heavens, according to that sense, is the Good Divine, which both is in, and constitutes the heavenly kingdom, and is therefore emphatically called the [or that] in the heavens.

Verse 18. One iota or one tittle, &c. - What is here rendered tittle is expressed in the original by the term kereia, which literally means a little horn, and probably refers to the little twirls of the letters in the Hebrew tongue, all of which have some peculiar force and meaning.

Verse 19. Whosoever therefore shall loosen one of the least of these commandments, &c. - What is here rendered loosen is expressed in the original Greek by the term awj/ from Aixo, which signifies to loosen, thus denoting, according to the spiritual idea, a separation of the truth of the Word from its good, by loosening the bond of conjunction, as is the case when men receive the truth of the Word in their understandings, but do not suffer it to affect their wills or loves.

Verse 19. Whosoever shall do and teach, &c. - According to the spiritual sense, to do has reference to the will or love,and to teach to the understanding or knowledge, thus both expressions united have reference to the heavenly marriage of good and truth so often referred to above.

Verse 22. To be angry, to say to a brother, Raca, and to say, Thou fool, in the detached sense of the letter, appear like unconnected expressions, when yet, in the cohering spiritual sense, they have a combined force and meaning, denoting all the gradations of opposition to brotherly love or charity, and the conjunction of those gradations. The same is true of the different expressions, to be liable to the judgement, to be liable to the council, and to be liable to the gehenna of fire, which denote the several gradations of punishment arising from that opposition, and at the same time the conjunction of those gradations. See the extract from the AE on this verse.

Verse 25. Be well-minded to your accuser, &c. - This is a literal translation of the original Greek, "lo-Oi evvo&v avTiSiKtu oow, and the wisdom of the precept seems to relate more especially to states of spiritual accusation in times of temptation, when, it is well known, the spiritual adversary of man is very busy in fixing groundless charges of guilt on the troubled spirit, on which account he is called, in the Revelation, "the accuser of the brethren, which accuses them before God day and night." Rev 12:10. The wisdom of the precept teaches this important rule of conduct on the occasion, namely, that spiritual accusation ought always to be answered with gentleness, and the spiritual accuser to be opposed with kindness, otherwise man separates himself from the Divine Spirit, whilst a fretful and violent spirit of judgement is excited, whence comes the spiritual imprisonment which is here spoken of and guarded against.

Verse 29. Pluck it out, and cast it from you.-Two distinct expressions are here used to mark the full rejection of evil, as also in the following verse, speaking of the right hand which scandalizes, where it is said, cut it off, and cast from you. The distinction appears to be grounded in the distinct operations of the understanding and the will, which are unitedly necessary to effect the complete separation of evil, and therefore it seems intended to suggest to man the important lesson, that such separation cannot be complete, unless it be the joint effect of rejection from and by both these principles of the human mind; in other words, from the will and by the understanding, for the will acts by the understanding, as the understanding acts from the will. Evil, therefore, may be said to be plucked out and cut off, when the understanding first notes and opposes it as evil, but it is not cast from the mind, until the will or love is also against it, and thus unites with the understanding to effect a full ejection.