276. 'Each one of them having harps' signifies the confession of the Lord's Divine Human out of spiritual truths. It is known that the confessions of Jehovah made in the temple of Jerusalem were by means of songs accompanied by musical instruments, which used to correspond. The instruments were chiefly trumpets and timbrels, psalteries and harps. The trumpets and timbrels used to correspond to celestial goods and truths, and the psalteries and harps to spiritual goods and truths. The correspondences were with their sounds. What celestial good and truth, and what spiritual good and truth are may be seen in the work concerning HEAVEN AND HELL (n. 13-19, and 20-28). That 'harps' signify confessions of the Lord out of spiritual truths can be established from these passages:-
Confess unto Jehovah with the harp, sing praises unto Him with the psaltery of ten strings Ps. xxxiii 2, 3.
I will confess unto Thee on the harp, O God, my God Ps. xliii 3, 4.
I will confess unto Thee on an instrument of the psaltery, I will sing unto Thee with the harp, O Thou Holy One of Israel Ps. lxxi 22.
Arouse me, psaltery and harp, I will confess unto Thee among the nations, O Lord Ps. lvii 7-9 [H.B. 8-10]; cviii 2-4.
Answer unto Jehovah by confession, sing praises upon the harp unto our God Ps. cxlvii 7.
It is good to confess unto Jehovah upon the psaltery, and upon higgajon* on the harp (super higgajon in CITHARA) Ps. xcii 1-3 [H.B. 2-4].
Resound unto Jehovah every land, sing unto Jehovah with the harp, with the harp and the voice of a song Ps. xcviii 4-6;
and in many other places, as Ps. xlix 3, 4 [H.B. 4, 5]; Ps. cxxxvii 1, 2; Job xxx 31; Isa. xxiv 7-9, xxx 31, 32; Rev. xiv 2, xviii 22. Because the 'harp' used to correspond to confession of the Lord, and evil spirits do not endure that [confession], therefore David by means of a 'harp' drove an evil spirit away from Saul (1 Sam. xvi 14-16, 23). That they were not harps but confessions of the Lord that were heard as harps by John, may be seen below (n. 661).
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