The Miracle Of The Seven Loaves And Fishes.

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The Miracle Of The Seven Loaves And Fishes.

Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way, etc.

Q. IN speaking of the miracle of the five loaves recorded in the foregoing chapter, you have already explained the principal circumstances attending this miracle, particularly in regard to the compassion of the blessed Jesus, and also in regard to the loaves and fishes, and the baskets-full of fragments which were taken up. Can you now tell me in what respects the present miracle differs from the farmer, and what is the ground of that difference?

A. The present miracle differs from the former in these four respects, first, that the number of loaves, in the present instance, was seven, whereas in the former case they were five; secondly, that on the present occasion the multitude were commanded to sit down on the ground, whereas on the former occasion they were commanded to sit down on the grass; thirdly, that the number of men, who were fed by the loaves, in the present instance were four thousand, whereas in the former case they were five thousand; fourthly, that in the present instance the number of baskets taken up were seven, whereas in the former case they were twelve. It is remarkable also that in the original Greek, the baskets mentioned in the two miracles are called by different names, for in the former miracle they are called Cophinoi, whereas in the latter they are called Spurides.

Q. And what do you conceive to be the ground of all these differences in the two miracles?

A. Each miracle is to be conceived as figurative and significative of a communication of heavenly good from the blessed Jesus to His church, and of the reception of that good by His church. But the good communicated by the blessed Jesus to His church is of two kinds, namely. the good of truth or faith, and the good of love or charity; and the former of these goods always precedes and is intended to conduct to the latter. When therefore the church had been fed and nourished by the former of these goods, and the period was now arrived for its reception of the latter, this reception is here recorded in the Evangelical History, and marked with such distinct characters, as to leave no doubt in the minds of the intelligent what is its distinct signification and meaning. For in the first place, it is said of the multitude on this occasion, that they had continued with Jesus now three days, denoting a full state of instruction in spiritual knowledge; for by three days is to be understood a full and complete period; and by continuing with Jesus, is further to be understood & a state of instruction. In the second place, the number of loaves are recorded to be seven, and the number seven, it is well known, denotes what is holy, and is usually applied in the sacred Scriptures to a state of love and charity, and therefore on the present occasion, when applied to the loaves, is significative of holy nourishment, that is to say, the nourishment derived from love and charity. In the third place, the multitude were commanded to sit down on the ground, not on the grass, as in the former miracle, denoting a state of more interior reception of good, for by ground is signified what is interior in respect to grass, which is its exterior product. In the fourth place, the number of men, who were fed by these loaves, are here said to be four thousand, and the number four, like the number two, from which it arises by multiplication, is always applied to denote a state of conjunction, thus the conjunction of love and wisdom, or of charity and faith, and therefore four yousand men, in the present instance, denote those of the church, in whom love and wisdom, or charity and faith are conjoined. Lastly, the number of baskets taken up, on the present occasion, were seven, which number, as was above noted, is always applied to denote what is most holy, thus what relates to love and charity.

Q. You tell me that there are two kinds of spiritual good communicated by the blessed Jesus to His church, namely. the good of truth or faith, and the good of love or charity, will you now be pleased to inform me, how you distinguish these two kinds of good from each other?

A. The good of truth or faith is the good done by man, whenever he submits his life, that is to say, his affections, thoughts, words, and works, to be guided and governed by the principles of truth, or faith operative in his understanding; thus when he is under the leading of intellectual light, and is obedient to that light, as proceeding from the revealed Word of the most high. On the other hand, the good of love or charity is the good done by man, when he begins to rise above the principles of truth or faith in his intellectual mind, and to act from the higher principle of love to god and his neighbour operative in his will, thus, when he is no longer led by the light of truth or faith alone, but is governed, because warmed by the genial heat of heaven-born regard to god in the Highest, and good-will towards men. These two distinct classes of good are carefully to be discriminated from each other, being in agreement with other distinctions frequently referred to in the sacred Scriptures, as with the distinction between knowing and doing, (John 22:17), between a prophet's reward and a righteous man's reward, (Matt. 40:41), between the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of the dove, (Matt. x. 16), between the sheep, whom Peter was required to feed, (John 21:16), and the sheep which he was again required to feed, (verse 17). For by all these distinctions we are taught, that the life of man consists of two distinct principles, namely. will and understanding, the will being created to be a receptacle of the divine love, as the understanding is created to be a receptacle of the divine wisdom. We are therefore taught further by the same distinctions, that there are two kinds or degrees of heavenly good, or of that good which connects man with heaven, and is his qualification hereafter for admission into heaven, namely. the good produced by and from an enlightened understanding, and the good produced by and from a purified will. To conduct man then to the knowledge of these two kinds of good, and to teach him the importance of attending well to their distinct natures and qualities, appears to have been the design of the divine providence in the two miracles above recorded, the first of which was intended to teach the edifying lesson, that the good of faith, or truth, is from Jesus Christ, and has conjunction with Him and His kingdom, whilst the second was intended to teach the edifying lesson, that the good of love, or charity, is likewise from Jesus Christ, and in a still closer degree of conjunction with that great god and His eternal kingdom.

Q. What then is the general instruction which you learn from the above miracle?

A. I learn again to adore the mercy and omnipotence of my god and saviour, who, on two several occasions, was pleased to supply His children in a miraculous manner with food and nourishment for their perishable bodies, and to convince them, under that striking figure, of the infinitely more substantial and durable nourishment which He continually administers for the support and comfort of their immortal souls. I am taught further, by the above miracle, the edifying lesson, to distinguish the nourishment of the soul into two kinds, namely. that which is imparted by means of heavenly truth, or faith in the understanding, and that which is produced by love and charity in the will. I am still further instructed that both the one and the other of these two kinds of good is accepting of the bliss of heaven, and consequently is a qualification for introduction into the societies of heaven, because both the one and the other is in connexion with Jesus Christ, proceeding from Him, leading to Him, and abiding in Him. I am resolved therefore to attend well in my own mind to these two distinct kinds and orders of heavenly good, and so to feed upon the former, that I may finally be qualified to partake of the latter. Thus may I hope, through the divine mercy, to be one of the four thousand, who had the high happiness of being fed by their god and saviour; and thus too will some part of the seven loaves become my portion, and eating to the glory of god and the nourishment of my soul in His mercy and goodness, I also shall rejoice in taking up seven baskets-full of holy fragments. amen.

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