277. And golden vials full of incense, signifies confession of the Lord's Divine Human from spiritual good. The reason why "incense" signifies worship from spiritual goods, but in this instance confession from such goods, is because the principal worship in the Jewish and Israelitish church consisted in sacrifices and incense; wherefore there were two altars, one for sacrifices and the other for incense; the latter altar was within the tabernacle, and was called the golden altar, but the former was without the tabernacle, and was called the altar of burnt-offering; the reason was, because there are two kinds of goods, from which all worship exists, celestial good and spiritual good: celestial good is the good of love to the Lord, and spiritual good is the good of love towards the neighbor. Worship by sacrifices was worship from celestial good, and worship by incense was worship from spiritual good. Whether you call it worship or confession, it is the same thing, for all worship is confession. What is signified by "incense," is also signified by "the vials" in which the incense is contained, because the thing containing and the thing contained, like the instrumental and principal, act as one cause. [2] Worship from spiritual good is signified by "incense" in the following passages:
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, My name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name (Mal. 1:11). They shall teach Jacob Thy judgments, they shall put incense in Thy nostril and a burnt-offering upon Thine altar (Deut. 33:10). I will offer unto Thee burnt-offerings of fatlings, with incense (Ps. 66:13, 15). And they shall come from the circuit of Judah, offering a burnt-offering, and a sacrifice, a meal-offering and incense (Jer. 17:26). They shall come from Sheba; they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall declare the praises of Jehovah (Isa. 60:6). By "frankincense" the same is signified as by "incense," because frankincense was the principal aromatic from which incense was made. Likewise in Matthew:
The wise men from the east opened their treasures, and offered to the Lord recently born, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matt. 2:11). The reason why they offered these three was, because "gold" signified celestial good, "frankincense" spiritual good, and "myrrh" natural good, and from those three goods all worship is made.
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