they who are in humiliation of heart implore the Lord's mercy, but they who are in humiliation of thought ask for grace, and if they implore mercy, it is in a state of temptation, or with the mouth only, not with the heart. A. C. n. 598.

Inasmuch as there are two principles to which all things of the church have reference, viz. love and faith; and whereas mercy is of love, and grace and also truth is of faith, therefore in the Word mention is made of mercy and grace when the Lord is implored, and of mercy and truth when the Lord is described, as in the following passages, "Thy mercy is before mine eyes, and I walk in thy truth," Psalm xxvi. 3: Again, "Thy mercy, O Jehovah, is in the heavens, and thy truth even to æthers," Psalm xxxvi. 6: Again, "God shall send from the heavens His mercy and His truth: Thy mercy is great even to the heavens, and thy truth even to the æthers," Psalm lvii. 114 Again, "Mercy and truth shall meet together, justice and peace shall kiss each other," Psalm lxxxv. 11: And again, "The mercy of Jehovah I will sing for ever, to generation and generation, thy truth with my mouth; since I have said, Mercy shall be built for ever, in the heavens themselves thou shalt confirm the truth: Justice and judgment are the support of thy throne, mercy and truth shall stand before thy face," Psalm lxxxix. 2, 3, 5; in which passages mercy denotes love, and truth denotes faith. A. C. n. 10577.

Verse 15. John bare witness of Him, and cried, &c. Inasmuch as crying [or shouting] is an act, which corresponds to living confession or acknowledgment from a principle of faith, therefore also amongst the ancients the ritual of crying for shouting] was in use, when such a thing was signified; and on this account, in the Word throughout, mention is made of crying or shouting, when the subject treated of is concerning confession and acknowledgment from a principle of faith, as it is said of John the Baptist, "That he witnessed concerning Jer sus, and cried, saying, This was He of whom I spake, who coming after me, was before me, because He was prior to me: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make right the way of the Lord," John i. 15, 28. A. C. n. 5323.

That the Lord was from eternity, is manifestly taught in these words, “This was He, who coming after me, was before me, because He was prior to me," John i. 15. A. C. 3704.

Verse 18. No one hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth to view. It is impossible for any thing of doctrine to proceed from the divine [principle] itself, except by the divine human, that is, by the Word, which in the supreme

sense is divine truth from the divine human [principle] of the Lord; what proceeds immediately from the divine (principle] itself cannot be apprehended even by the angels of the inmost heaven; the reason is, because it is infinite, and thus transcends all comprehension, even such as is angelic; but what proceeds from the divine human [principle] of the Lord, this they are capable of comprehending, since it treats of God as of a divine man, concerning whom some idea may be formed from the human [principle]; and the idea which is formed respecting the human [principle] is accepted, whatsoever it may be, provided that it flows from the good of innocence, and is in the good of charity; this is what is meant by the Lord's words in John, No one hath seen God at any time; the onlybegotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth_to_view, i. 18: Again, Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father at any time, nor seen His shape, v. 37. And in Matthew, No one knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son shall be willing to reveal, xi. 27. A. C. n. 5321.

The infinite itself, which is above all the heavens, and above the inmost principles appertaining to man, cannot be manifested except by the divine human [principle] which appertains to the Lord alone; the communication of the infinite with finite beings cannot be given from any other source; which also is the reason why, when Jehovah appeared to the men of the most ancient church, and afterwards to the ancient church, also to Abraham and the prophets, He was manifested to them as a man, and that this man was the Lord, He himself openly teaches in John, Your father, Abraham, exulted to see my day, and he saw and rejoiced: Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am, viii. 56, 58. Hence it may be evident, that the infinite Esse, which is Jehovah, cannot in any wise be manifested to man, except by the human essence, thus by the Lord; and thus that He hath been manifested to no one but to the Lord alone: To the intent also that He might be present with and conjoined to man, after that man had removed himself altogether from the divine [being], and immersed himself in filthy lusts, and thereby in mere corporeal and terrestrial things, he actually assumed by nativity the human essence, that thus he might still adjoin the infinite divine [principle] to man so far removed from it, who must otherwise have perished in the death of the damned to eternity. A. C. n. 1990.

The divine good cannot be received by man, not even by an angel, but only by the divine human [principle] of the Lord, which is meant by these words in John, No one hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the

Father, He hath brought Him forth to view. But divine truth can be received, in which truth divine good can dwell, with a difference according to reception. A. C. n. 4180..

The conjunction of man with the Lord is not with His supreme divine [principle] itself, but with his divine human. [principle], for man can have no idea at all concerning the supreme divine [principle] of the Lord, inasmuch as it so transcends his idea, that it altogether perishes and becomes no idea; but concerning his divine human [principle] he can have an idea; for every one is conjoined by thought and affection, in cases where he can have an idea, but not in cases where he can have no idea; when the human [principle] of the Lord is thought of, if there be sanctity in the idea, the holy principle is also at the same time thought of, which from the Lord fills heaven, thus heaven is likewise thought of, for heaven in its complex re sembles one man, and this from the Lord; hence it is that conjunction cannot be given with the supreme divine (principle] of the Lord, but with his divine human, and by the divine human with his supreme divine; this is the reason why it is said in John, That no one hath seen God at any time, except the onlybegotten Son, and that no approach is given to the Father but by Him; also that He is the Mediator: This may be known manifestly from this consideration, that all they within the church, who say that they believe in a supreme Being, and do despise the Lord, are they who believe nothing at all, not even that there is a heaven, nor that there is a hell, and who worship nature. A. C. 4211; see also n. 6887, 10067, 10267. a dri

The Lord is said to be rejected, when He is not approached and worshipped, and likewise when He is approached and worshipped only as to His human [principle], and not at the same time as to the divine; wherefore He is rejected at this day within the church by those, who do not approach and worship Him, but pray to the Father to be merciful for the sake of the Son, when yet it is impossible for any man or angel to come to the Father, and worship Him immediately, for He is the invisible divine [Being], with whom no one can be conjoined by faith and love; for what is invisible doth not fall into the idea of thought, and therefore neither into the affection of the will, and what doth not fall into the idea of thought is no object of faith, for the objects of faith must be thought of, and likewise what doth not enter into the affection of the will, doth not enter the love, for the objects of love must affect the will of man, since in this principle resides all the love which man hath : But the divine human [principle] of the Lord falls into the idea of thought, and thus into faith, and thence into the affection of the will or love; hence it is evident that there is no conjunction

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with the Father except from the Lord and in the Lord, as the Lord himself clearly teaches in the evangelists; thus in John, No one hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth to view, i. 18. Again, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one cometh to the Father but by me, xiv. 6. Again, I am, the vine, ye are the branches, without me ye cannot do any thing, xv. 5. Ap. Ex. n. 114.

God the Father cannot in any wise be approached, neither can He come to any man because He is infinite, and in His Esse, which is Jehovah, from which if He was to come to man, He would dissolve him, as fire does wood, and reduce him to ashes; this is evident from the consideration of his saying to Moses, who was desirous to see Him, that no one can see Him and live, Exod. xxxiii. 20; and the Lord saith, that no one hath seen God at any time, except the Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, John i. 18. Matt. xi. 27; also, that no one hath heard the voice of the Father, nor seen His shape, John v. 37; it is written indeed that Moses saw Jehovah face to face, and spake with Him mouth to mouth, but this was done by an angel, in like manner in the case of Abraham and Gideon. Now whereas God the Father in himself is of such a quality, it pleased Him to assume the human [principle], and in this to admit men, and thereby to hear them, and speak with them; and this human [principle] is what is called the Son of God, and this it is which mediates, intercedes, propitiates and expiates. MEDIATION signifies that it is the intermediate, by which man can come to God the Father, and God the Father to man, and thus teach and lead him that he may be saved, wherefore the Son of God, by whom is meant the human [principle] of God the Father, is called Saviour, and in the world Jesus, that is, salvation. INTERCESSION signifies perpetual mediation, for love itself, of which is mercy, clemency and grace, perpetually intercedes, that is, mediates, for those who do His precepts, whom He loves. EXPIATION signifies the removal of sins, into which man would rush, if he approached the naked Jehovah. PROPITIATION signifies the operation of clemency and grace, lest man by sins should bring himself into damnation; in like manner protection, lest he should profane holiness; and this was signified by the propitiatory over the ark in the tabernacle. T. C. R. n. 135.

The Lord our Saviour is Jehovah the Father himself in a human form, for Jehovah descended, and was made man, that He might come to man, and man to Him, and thus conjunction might be effected, and by conjunction man might have salvation and eternal life; for when God was made man, and

thus also man was made God, then being accommodated to: man, He could come to and be conjoined to him as God-Man and Man-God. There are three things which follow in order, ACCOMMODATION, APPLICATION, and CONJUNCTION: Accommodation must take place before application is given, and accommodation and application together must take place before conjunction is given; accommodation was on the part of God, in that He was made a man; application on the part of God is perpetual, so far as man applies himself on his part; and as this is effected, conjunction is also effected. These three things follow and proceed in their order, in all and singular the things which become one and co-exist. T. C. R. n. 370.

Verse 19 to 24. And this is the record of John, &c. Inasmuch as John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when He spake of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was not Elias, nor a prophet and that he was not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord's shoe; from which considerations it is evident that John, when he spake of the Lord himself, who was the divine truth itself or the Word, said that he was not any thing, since the shade disappears when the light itself appears; or the representative, when the thing itself which was represented appears. He who. doth not know that representatives vanish, like shades at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and a prophet. A. C. n. 9372.

Verse 23. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, &c. Voice in this passage denotes what is announced from the Word concerning the Lord's Advent, thus also it denotes the divine truth which the Word announces; wilderness denotes the state of the church at that time, which was as in a wilderness, because the Word was no longer understood. A. C, n. 9926.

By the above words is signified that the church at that time was altogether vastated, so that there was no longer any good and any truth, which evidently appears from this consideration, that at that time no one knew that man hath any internal principle, nor that there is any internal principle in the Word; thus it was also unknown that the Messiah or Christ was to come to save them to eternity: Hence also it is evident what is signified by John being in the wildernesses, even to the days of his appearing unto Israel, Luke i. 80; and by his preaching in the wilderness of Judea, Matt. iii. 1, and following verses; and by his baptizing in the wilderness, Mark i. 4; for thereby he also represented the state of the church. A. C. n. 2708.

Verse 27. Whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. In the Word, the sole of the foot and the heel signifies the ul