974. Because Thou hast judged these things, signifies by whom it was foreseen that these things would take place, and by whom it was provided that the heavens, which are in the Divine good and in the Divine truth, might not suffer harm. This is evident from the signification of "judging these things," as being to cause them to be done or come to pass, namely, what follows, that "because they have poured out the blood of saints and prophets, He gave them blood to drink." But as this is said respecting the Lord, and the Lord never gives anyone blood to drink, or gives what is signified by "drinking blood," and yet these with many other like things in the Word are attributed in the sense of the letter to the Lord, it follows that these words must be understood to mean that the Lord foresaw that these things would take place, and provided that no harm should be done thereby to the heavens, which are in the Divine good and in the Divine truth. For the Lord foresees evil and provides good. Such are the things signified by these words in the spiritual sense, that is, when the natural, which is the exterior, is put off, and the spiritual, which is the interior, appears; consequently when the thought of the natural man, which is according to appearances, is supplanted by the spiritual thought of the angels, which is according to the essence of the thing. This makes clear what the sense of the letter of the Word is and what its spiritual sense is, also what human thought is and what angelic thought is, namely, that these are in accord like what is internal and what is external, or like a cause and an effect, and that the effect or external that is with man is put off, and the cause or internal that is with the angels who are with man becomes manifest. And this is why a holy internal from the angels flows into the external thought of the man who regards the Word as holy, even when he does not know it.
(Continuation respecting the Fifth Commandment)
[2] When a man begins to shun and turn away from evils because they are sins all things that he does are good, and also may be called good works; with a difference according to the excellence of the uses. For what a man does before he shuns and turns away from evils as sins are works done by the man himself; and as the man's own [proprium], which is nothing but evil, is in these, and they are done for the sake of the world, therefore they are evil works. But the works that a man does after he shuns and turns away from evils as sins are works from the Lord, and because the Lord is in these and heaven with Him they are good works. The difference between works done from man and works done from the Lord in man is not apparent to men's sight, but is clearly evident to the sight of angels. Works done from man are like sepulchers outwardly whitened, which within are full of the bones of the dead. They are like platters and cups outwardly clean, but containing unclean things of every kind. They are like fruits inwardly rotten, but with the outer skin still shining; or like nuts or almonds eaten by worms within, while the shell remains untouched; or like a foul harlot with a fair face. Such are the good works done from man himself, since however good they appear on the outside, within they are full of impurities of every kind; for their interiors are infernal, while their exteriors appear heavenly. But after man shuns and turns away from evils as sins his works are good not only outwardly but inwardly also; and the more interior they are the more they are good, for the more interior they are the nearer they are to the Lord. Then they are like fruits that have a fine-flavored pulp, in the center of which are depositories with many seeds, from which new trees, even to whole gardens, may be produced; but everything and all things in his natural man are like eggs from which swarms of flying creatures may be produced, and gradually fill a great part of heaven. In a word, when man shuns and turns away from evils as sins the works that he does are living, while those that he did before were dead, for what is from the Lord is living, but what is from man is dead.
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