2692. And the Angel of God called unto Hagar out of Heaven, that it fignifies Confolation, appears from the Signification of, to cry out of Heaven, alfo of the Angel of God, as likewife of Hagar; to call out of Heaven fignifies Influx; the Angel of God, the Lord, N. 1925. 2321; and Hagar the Knowledge of Truth, N 2691: the Influx of the Lord into the Affection of Truth, when this is in the deepest Sorrow on Account of Privation, is Confolation. That which flows into Man from the Lord, is faid to be called out of Heaven, because it is thro' Heaven, and is there manifeft, but in the Perception and Thought of Man it is obfcure, only evidencing itself by Change of the State of Affection, as here that fhe receiv'd Confolation.

2693. Said unto her, what aileth thee Hagar, that it fignifies Perception of her State, appears from the Signification of, to fay, in the Hiftoricals of the Word, which is to perceive; and from the Signification of, what aileth thee Hagar, which is the State in which fhe was; here it fignifies that the Lord knew her State, altho' fhe is interrogated, and it is faid, what aileth thee Hagar? In the Senfe of the Letter it is an Interrogation from the Lord, but in the internal Senfe it is the infinite Perception of all Things; that Men are interrogated concerning their State, is occasionally read in the Word, but the Reason is, because Man does not believe otherwife than that Nobody knows Thoughts, less the State of Affection; as likewife that they may have Comfort from thence, that they may open the Senfes of the Mind, which is ufually a Remedy, as may be feen, N. 1701. 1931.

2694. Fear not, for God hath heard the Voice of the Lad, where he is, that it fignifies Hope of Affiftance, appears from the Signification of, fear not, which is, not to defpair, for Fear being taken away Hope is prefent; and from the Signification of, to hear the Voice of the Lad, which is Help, of which above, N. 2691, where are the like Words. In the preceding Verses we treated of the State of Defolation, in which they are who are reformed and become spiritual; now we treat of their Reftitution, here of the Comfort and Hope of Help. That they who are reformed are reduced into the Ignorance of the Truth or Defolation, even to Grief and Defperation, and that then firft they have Comfort and Help from the Lord, is at this Day unknown, for this Reafon because few are reformed; they who are fuch that they may be reformed, are, if not in this Life, yet in the other, reduced into this State, where it is perfectly known, and is called Vaftation or Defolation, of which fomething in the First Part, fee N. 1109. They who are in fuch a Vastation or Defolation, are reduced even to Defperation, and when they are in this State, then they receive Comfort and Help from the Lord, and at length are taken into Heaven, where among the Angels they are instructed as it were anew in the Excellencies and Truths of Faith. The Reafon of this Vaftation and Defolation is principally, that the Perfuafive may be broken, which they have take from their own Ability, as may be feen N. 2682; as likewife that they may receive the Perception of Good and Truth which they cannot receive, before the Perfuafive, which is from Ability, is as it were soften'd;

the

the State of Anxiety and Grief even to Defperation does this; what Good, nay, what Happinefs and Felicity is, no Man can perceive with an exquifite Senfe, unless he has been in a State of not Good, not Happiness, not Felicity; from this he takes the Sphere of Perception; and this in that Degree in which he was in the oppofite State, from Relatives actually formed, it becomes the Sphere of Perception, and the Extenfion of its Limits; thefe are the Reafons of Valtation or Defolation, befides many others. But let us illuftrate this by Examples: They who attribute all Things to their own Prudence, and little or nothing to Divine Providence; tho' they should be convinced by a thousand and a thousand Reasons, that Divine Providence is univerfal, but univerfal from hence, because it is fingularly in every Thing, and that not even a Hair of the Head fhall fall to the Ground, that is, not the leaft thing imaginable, which is not foreseen and accordingly provided for, yet the State of their Thought concerning their own Pru dence is not from hence changed, except only in that Moment when they find themselves convicted by Reafons; nay, if the fame Thing could be made evident to them by lively Experiences, then when they fee the Experiences, or are in them, they confefs that fo it is, but after an Intermiffion of a few Moments, they return to the fame State of Opinion; fuch Things have a momentary Effect upon the Thought, but not upon the Affection, and unless the Affection is broken, the Thought remains in its own State, for Thought has its Faith and its Life from Affection; but when Anxiety and Grief are brought upon them from this, that they can do nothing at all of themselves, and this even to Defperations, then the Perfuafive is broken, and the State is changed; and then they may be brought into that Belief, that they can do nothing of themselves, but that, all Power, Prudence, Understanding and Wifdom is from the Lord. Thus it is with those who believe that Faith is from themselves, that Good is from themfelves. This may be farther illustrated by an Example: They who have got this Perfuafive, that when they are justified, they have no longer any Evil in them, but that it is wholly wiped away and blotted out, but that they are with-held from Evil, and that they are pure; they, tho' they fhould be enlighten'd by a thousand Reasons, that nothing is wiped away and blotted out, but that they are with-held from Evil, and kept in Good by the Lord, they who are fuch from the Life of Good, in which they were in the World, yet think it is from themfelves; and if they fhould be further convinced by Experiences, that of themselves they are nothing but evil, nay, that they are moft impure Heaps of Evils; yet they do not recede from the Faith of their Opinion; but when they are reduced to that State, that they perceive Hell in themselves, and this to that Degree, as to defpair of ever being faved, then that Perfuafive is first broken, and with it their Pride, and the Contempt of others in Comparison of themselves, alfo their Arrogance that they alone are they who are faved, and may be brought into the true Confeffion of Faith, not only that all Good is from the Lord, but also that all Things are of his Mercy; and at length into an Humiliation of the Heart before the Lord, which is not practicable without Self

acknow

acknowledgment. Hence it is now evident, why they, who are reformed and become fpiritual, are brought into a State of Vaftation and Defolation, of which in the preceding Verfes; and when they are in that State even to Defperation, then they firft have Comfort and Affiftance from the Lord.

2695. Ver. 18. Arife, lift up the Lad, and hold him in thine Hand; for I will make him a great Nation. Arife, fignifies the Elevation of the Mind. Lift up the Lad, fignifies the Spiritual with refpect to Truth. And hold. him in thine Hand, fignifies Upholding from thence. For I will make him a great Nation, fignifies the Church fpiritual.

2696. Arife, that it fignifies Elevation of Mind, appears from the Signification of, to rife, in the Word, which involves, where it is mentioned, fome Elevation, of which, N. 2401, here the Elevation of the Mind, because Illustration, and in the following Verfe Inftruction, in Truths.

2697. Lift up the Lad, that it fignifies the Spiritual with refpect to Truth, appears from the Signification of Lad, which is the Spiritual principally with regard to Truth, of which, N. 2677. 2687. For the Man of the spiritual Church feems to be regenerated by the Truths of Faith, but knows not that it is by the Good of Truth, for that does not appear, it manifefts itself only in the Affection of Truth, and afterwards in Life according to Truth; no Man can ever be regenerated by Truth, unlefs Good is with Truth, for Truth without Good is of no Life; wherefore by Truth feparated from Good there is not any new Life, which yet a Man has by Regeneration.

2698. And hold him in thine Hand, that it fignifies Upholding from thence, appears from the Signification of, to be held, which is to be fuftained, from the Signification of Hand, which is Power, of which, N. 878, which is of upholding; him, or the Lad, is from hence, namely, which is of the Spiritual with refpect to Truth. They who are in internal Grief, and in Defpair for the Privation of Truth, they are elevated and upheld only by Truth, because they had Grief and Defpair concerning this; they who are in the Affection of Good, Good in them defires Good as the Hungry defires Bread, or as the Thirty Water. What is here meant by holding him in the Hand, will not be understood by any one, except in the internal Senfe.

2699. For I will make him a great Nation, that it fignifies the Church piritual, appears from the Signification of a great Nation, which is the Church fpiritual, which fhould accept the Good of Faith, of which above, N. 2669; it is faid a great Nation, because the Spiritual Kingdom is another Kingdom of the Lord, of which alfo in the Place cited. By Ifmael, as the Man of the fpiritual Church is reprefented, fo is alfo the Church spiritual reprefented, as likewife the Spiritual Kingdom of the Lord in the Heavens, for the Image and Likeness of one is in the other. The first State after Defolation is described in the preceding Verfe, which was the State of Confolation and of the Hope of Help; their other State after Defolation is described in this Verfe, which is the State of Illuftration and Recreation from thence. As No. VI. thefe

F

thefe States are unknown in the World, for this Reafon, because few at this Day, as has been faid, are regenerated, we fhall declare, what this their State is in the other Life, where it is most known. There they who have been in Vaftation or Defolation, after they are comforted with the Hope of Help, are elevated by the Lord into Heaven, fo from the State of Shadow which is the State of Ignorance, into a State of Light which is the State of Illuftration and of Recreation from thence, fo into Joy, which affects their Internals; it is actually Light into which they come, which is fuch, that it not only illuminates the Sight but likewife the Understanding at the fame Time, which Light how much it recreates them, may appear from the oppofite State from which they are free'd; fome are carried about to many angelical Societies, and are every where receiv'd with Charity as Brethren, and whatever of Good is agreeable to their new Life, is prefented to them; to fome it is granted to fee the Immensity of Heaven or of the Kingdom of the Lord, and to perceive the Happiness of thofe who are there; befides innumerable other Things, which cannot be defcribed. Such is the State of the Illustration and from thence of the Recreation of thofe who come out of Defolation.

2700. Ver. 19. And God opened her Eyes, and she saw a Well of Water; and fhe went and filled the Bottle with Water, and gave the Lad Drink. God opened her Eyes, fignifies Understanding. And the faw a Well of Water, fignifies the Word of the Lord from which are Truths. And the filled the Bottle with Water, fignifies Truths from thence. And gave the Lad Drink, fignifies Inftruction in Spirituals.

2701. God opened her Eyes, that it fignifies Understanding, appears from the Signification of, to open, and that God fhould open, as likewise from the Signification of Eyes, that they are to give Intelligence; that Eyes fignify the Understanding, may be seen N. 212, in like Manner as Sight, or to fee, N. 2150. 2325. God is faid to open the Eyes, when he opens the interior Sight or Understanding, which is done by an Influx into the Rational of Man, or rather into the Spiritual of his Rational, this by the Way of the Soul or the internal Way, to Man unknown; this Influx is the State of his Illustration, in which Truths are confirmed to him, which he hears, or which he reads, with a certain Perception of the Interior in his Intellectual. This Man believes is natural to him, and proceeds from his own proper intellectual Faculty, but he is grofsly deceiv'd, the Influx is thro' Heaven from the Lord into the Obfcure, Deceivable, and Appearance of Man, and by the Good which is there it does thofe Things, which he believes, emulous of Truth; but they who are spiritual are only made happy by Illustration in Spirituals; it is that which is fignified by, God opened her Eyes. That the Eye fignifies the Understanding, is because the Eye of the Body correfponds to the Sight of his Spirit, which is the Understanding, and because it correfponds, by Eye in the Word, almoft wherever it is named, is fignified the Understanding, even where it is otherwife believed;

as

as where the Lord fays in Matthew, "The Light of the Body is the Eye, "if therefore thine Eye be fingle, thy whole Body fhall be full of Light. "But if thine Eye be evil, thy whole Body is full of Darkness. If there"fore the Light that is in thee be Darkness, how great is that Darkness?" vi. 22, 23. Luke xi. 34. where Eye is the Understanding, whofe Spiritual is Faith, which alfo may appear from the Explanation there, if therefore the Light be Darkness, how great is that Darknefs? In like Manner in the fame, "If thy right Eye offend thee, pluck it out, and caft it from thee," v. 29. Chap. xviii. 9. The left Eye is the Intellectual, but the right Eye is its Affection, that the right Eye is to be plucked out, fignifies that the Affection is to be tamed if it gives Offence. In the fame," Bleffed are your Eyes, for "they fee, and your Ears for they hear," xiii. 16. and in Luke, " And Jesus "faid unto his Difciples, Bleffed are the Eyes which fee the Things which ye "fee," x. 23. There by the Eyes which fee is fignified the Understanding and Faith; for to fee the Lord, as alfo his Miracles and Works, did not render any Man bleffed, but that they understood and believed, which is to fee with the Eyes, and that they obeyed is what is meant by hearing with their Ears; that, to fee with the Eyes is to understand, as also to have Faith, may be feen N. 897. 2325; the Understanding is the Spiritual of Sight, and Faith is the Spiritual of the Understanding; the Sight of the Eye is from the Light of the World, the Sight of the Understanding is from the Light of Heaven flowing into thofe Things which are of the Light of the World, but the Sight of Faith is from the Light of Heaven; hence it is faid, to fee with the Understanding, and to fee with Faith; that to hear with the Ear, is to obey, may be seen N. 2542. In Mark, "Jefus faith unto his Difciples, Per"ceive ye not, neither understand? Have ye your Heart yet hardned? "Having Eyes fee ye not? and having Ears hear ye not?" viii. 17, 18. where it is plain, that not to be willing to understand, and not to believe, is to have Eyes and not to fee. In Luke, Jefus speaking of the City, "If thou "hadft known the Things which belong to thy Peace, but now they are "hid from thine Eyes,” xix. 41, 42. And in Mark, "This was the Lord's Doing, and it is marvellous in our Eyes," xii. 11. where that it was hidden from the Eyes, and it is marvellous in the Eyes, is before the Understanding, is known to every one from the Signification of the Eye, and from the familiar Use of Speech.

c

2702. And the faw a Well of Water, that it fignifies the Word of the Lord, appears from the Signification of Well of Water, and Fountain which is the Word, as alfo Doctrine from the Word, confequently alfo the Word itself, of which it presently follows; and from the Signification of Water, which is Truth. That a Well in which is Water, and Fountain, is the Word of the Lord, as likewife Doctrine from the Word, confequently alfo Truth itself, may appear from many Places; here because the Church fpiritual is treated of, it is called Well not Fountain, as alfo in the following Verfes of this Chapter. "Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a Well of Water, which Abime