10436. With great power and with a strong hand. That this signifies by virtue of Divine power, is evident from the signification of "great power and a strong hand," when said of Jehovah, as being Divine power (see n. 7188, 7189, 8050, 8069, 8153). How the case is herein and heretofore, can be seen from the series of things in the internal sense, which is that although the Israelitish nation was in external things without what is internal, insomuch that they could not be raised at all toward interior things, still the representative of a church could be instituted among them, and the Word could be written there, for the reason that by virtue of the Divine power, there could nevertheless be communication with heaven by external things without what is internal; and thus a similar effect could be produced as if they were at the same time in what is internal (on which see what was shown concerning that nation in the places cited above, n. 10396; as that by the external things with them, which were representative of interior things, there was communication with heaven by virtue of the Divine power of the Lord, n. 4311, 4444, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806). [2] Be it known that the church is not the church from external worship, but from internal worship; for external worship is of the body, but internal worship is of the soul. Consequently external worship without internal is of the outward act only, thus is worship without life from the Divine. Through the interior things of worship the man of the church communicates with the heavens, to which the external serves as a plane upon which the interior things may subsist, as a house upon its foundations; and when it so subsists it is complete and firm, and the whole man is directed by the Divine. [3] Such was the man of the Ancient Church, which also was a representative church, and therefore that church was accepted by the Lord, as is evident from many passages in the Word; for example, it is described in the song of Moses (Deut. 32:3-14). But such a church could not be instituted among the Israelitish and Jewish nation, for the reason, as before said, that their interiors were filthy, thus were utterly contrary to the good of celestial love and the good of faith, which are the interior things of worship. Therefore when they so obstinately insisted that they should come into the land of Canaan, which was the same thing as representing the church, it was provided by the Lord that there should nevertheless be communication with heaven by means of their merely external worship; for the end of all worship is communication with heaven, and thereby the conjunction of the Lord with man. These are the things here treated of in the internal sense.