517. 'And the rest became frightened, and gave glory to the God of heaven' signifies that those who had adjoined some good of charity to faith, when they saw their destruction, acknowledged the Lord and were separated. By 'the rest' are understood here those who had adjoined some good of charity to faith. By 'became frightened' is signified on account of fear when they saw the destruction of the others. By 'to give glory to the God of heaven' is signified to acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth; by 'to give glory' is signified to acknowledge and worship, and by 'the God of heaven and earth' is understood the Lord, because He is the God of heaven and earth (Matt. xxviii 18). These, because they acknowledged the Lord out of fear, were separated so that they might be examined as to the origin out of which they did good, whether out of themselves or out of the Lord. All those do good out of themselves who are not fleeing from evils as sins, that is, who are not living the precepts of the Decalogue; but they do good out of the Lord who are [so] fleeing and living.