The Lord's Divine Providence is Universal

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The Lord's Divine providence is universal from the minutest particulars, in that He created the universe that an infinite and eternal creation from Himself might exist in it; and this creation exists by the Lord's forming a heaven out of men to be before Him as one man, which is His image and likeness.

• This heaven formed out of men is such in the Lord's sight, and that this was the end of creation.

• The Divine in all that it does, looks to the infinite and eternal.

The infinite and eternal that the Lord looks to in forming His heaven out of men, is that it shall be enlarged to infinity and to eternity, and that He may thus have a constant abiding place in the end of His creation. This is the infinite and eternal creation that the Lord provided for through the creation of the universe; and He is constantly present in that creation by His Divine providence.

Who that knows and believes from the doctrine of the church that God is infinite and eternal (for it is in the doctrine of all the churches in the Christian world that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, is infinite, eternal, uncreated, and omnipotent, as may be seen in the Athanasian creed), can be so devoid of reason as not to admit as soon as he hears it that God cannot do otherwise than look to what is infinite and eternal in the great work of His creation? For what else can He look to when He looks from Himself? This also He looks to in the human race, from which He forms that heaven which is His own. What else, then, can the Divine providence have for its end than the reformation and salvation of the human race? But no one can be reformed by himself by means of his own prudence, but only by the Lord by means of His Divine providence. Thus it follows that unless man were led every moment and fraction of a moment by the Lord, he would depart from the way of reformation and would perish.

Every change and variation of the state of the human mind produces some change and variation in the series of things present, and consequently in the things that follow; why not then progressively to eternity? It is like an arrow shot from a bow, which, if it should depart in the least at its start from the line of aim, would at a distance of a thousand paces or more go far wide of the mark. So would it be if the Lord did not lead the states of human minds every least moment. This the Lord does in accordance with the laws of His Divine providence; and it is in accordance with these laws that it should appear to man that he leads himself; while how he leads himself is foreseen by the Lord with an unceasing adaptation. That laws of permission are also laws of the Divine providence, and that every man can be reformed and regenerated, and that there is no other possible predestination, will be seen in what follows.

Since, therefore, every man lives for ever after death, and is allotted a place according to his life, either in heaven or in hell, and since both heaven and hell must exist in a form that will act as a one, as said before, and since no one can be allotted in that form any place but his own, it follows that the human race throughout the whole world is under the Lord's auspices; and that each one, from infancy even to the end of his life, is led by the Lord in the least particulars, and his place foreseen and at the same time provided.

From all this it is clear that the Lord's Divine providence is universal because it is in every least particular; and that this is the infinite and eternal creation which the Lord provided for Himself by means of the creation of the universe. Of this universal providence man sees nothing. If he did see it it would appear in his eyes only as one passing sees scattered heaps and accumulated material from which a house is to be built, while the Lord sees it as a magnificent palace, with its work of construction and enlargement constantly going on.

(from Divine Providence 202-203)

God is Not in Space

Selection from Divine Love and Wisdom ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The Divine, that is, God, is not in space, although omnipresent and with every man in the world, and with every angel in heaven, and with every spirit under heaven, cannot be comprehended by a merely natural idea, but it can by a spiritual idea.

It cannot be comprehended by a natural idea, because in the natural idea there is space; since it is formed out of such things as are in the world, and in each and all of these, as seen by the eye, there is space. In the world, everything great and small is of space; everything long, broad, and high is of space; in short, every measure, figure and form is of space. This is why it has been said that it cannot be comprehended by a merely natural idea that the Divine is not in space, when it is said that the Divine is everywhere. Still, by natural thought, a man may comprehend this, if only he admit into it something of spiritual light. For this reason something shall first be said about spiritual idea, and thought therefrom.

Spiritual idea derives nothing from space, but it derives its all from state. State is predicated of love, of life, of wisdom, of affections, of joys therefrom; in general, of good and of truth. An idea of these things which is truly spiritual has nothing in common with space; it is higher and looks down upon the ideas of space which are under it as heaven looks down upon the earth.

But since angels and spirits see with eyes, just as men in the world do, and since objects cannot be seen except in space, therefore in the spiritual world where angels and spirits are, there appear to be spaces like the spaces on earth; yet they are not spaces, but appearances; since they are not fixed and constant, as spaces are on earth; for they can be lengthened or shortened; they can be changed or varied. Thus because they cannot be determined in that world by measure, they cannot be comprehended there by any natural idea, but only by a spiritual idea. The spiritual idea of distances of space is the same as of distances of good or distances of truth, which are affinities and likenesses according to states of goodness and truth.

From this it may be seen that man is unable, by a merely natural idea, to comprehend that the Divine is everywhere, and yet not in space; but that angels and spirits comprehend this clearly; consequently that a man also may, provided he admits into his thought something of spiritual light; and this for the reason that it is not his body that thinks, but his spirit, thus not his natural, but his spiritual.

But many fail to comprehend this because of their love of the natural, which makes them unwilling to raise the thoughts of their understanding above the natural into spiritual light; and those who are unwilling to do this can think only from space, even concerning God; and to think according to space concerning God is to think concerning the expanse of nature. This has to be premised, because without a knowledge and some perception that the Divine is not in space, nothing can be understood about the Divine Life, which is Love and Wisdom ... and hence little, if anything, about Divine Providence, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Infinity and Eternity.

It has been said that in the spiritual world, just as in the natural world, there appear to be spaces, consequently also distances, but that these are appearances according to spiritual affinities which are of love and wisdom, or of good and truth. From this it is that the Lord, although everywhere in the heavens with angels, nevertheless appears high above them as a sun. Furthermore, since reception of love and wisdom causes affinity with the Lord, those heavens in which the angels are, from reception, in closer affinity with Him, appear nearer to Him than those in which the affinity is more remote. From this it is also that the heavens, of which there are three, are distinct from each other, likewise the societies of each heaven; and further, that the hells under them are remote according to their rejection of love and wisdom. The same is true of men, in whom and with whom the Lord is present throughout the whole earth; and this solely for the reason that the Lord is not in space.

(from Divine Love and Wisdom 7-10)

Genuine Charity is Devoid of All Claim to Merit

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
GENUINE CHARITY DOES NOT REGARD
PROFIT OR RECOMPENSE AS THE END
BUT THE GOOD OF THE NEIGHBOR

He who does not know what Christian charity is, may believe that it consists not only in giving to the needy and the poor, but also in doing good to a fellow citizen, to our country, and to the church, for any cause whatever, or for any end whatever. But be it known that it is the end that determines the quality of all a man's deeds.

If his end or intention is to do good for the sake of reputation, or to acquire honors or profit, then the good which he does is not good, because it is done for the sake of himself, and thus also from himself.

But if his end is to do good for the sake of a fellow citizen, his country, or the church, thus for the sake of the neighbor, then the good which the man does is good, for it is done for the sake of good itself, which, in general, is the neighbor itself;

thus also it is done for the sake of the Lord, for such good is not from man, but from the Lord, and that which is from the Lord is the Lord's. It is this good which is meant by the Lord in Matthew:

As much as ye did to one of the least of these My brethren, ye did to Me (Matt. 25:40).

As it is with good, so also it is with truth —

Those who do truth for the sake of truth, do it also for the sake of the Lord, because they do it from the Lord.

To do truth for the sake of truth, is to do good; for truth becomes good when it passes from the understanding into the will, and from the will goes forth into act. To do good in this manner is Christian charity. Sometimes those who do good from Christian charity have regard to reputation from it, for the sake of honor, or for the sake of profit; yet they do so very differently from those who regard these things as the end; for they regard what is good and just as the essential and only thing, thus as being in the highest place; and thereafter they regard profit and honor, and reputation for the sake of these, as being relatively not essential, thus in the lowest place. When persons of such a character have in view what is just and good, they are like those who fight in battle for their country, and who then have no regard for their life, nor for their rank and possessions in the world, which are then relatively of no account. But those who have regard to themselves and the world in the first place, are of such a character that they do not even see what is just and good, because they have in view themselves and their own profit.

From all this it is evident what it is to do good for the sake of self or the world, and what it is to do good for the sake of the Lord or the neighbor, and what is the difference between them. The difference is as great as that between two opposites, thus as great as between heaven and hell. Moreover, those who do good for the sake of the neighbor or the Lord are in heaven; but those who do good for the sake of self and the world are in hell. For those who do good for the sake of the neighbor and the Lord, love the Lord above all things and the neighbor as themselves, in accordance with the chief of all the commandments.

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.  (Mark 12:28-31).

But those who do all things for the sake of themselves and the world, love themselves above all things, thus more than God, and not only do they despise the neighbor, but even hold him in hatred if he does not make one with themselves, and be theirs. This is meant by what the Lord teaches in Matthew:

No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matt. 6:24).

There are those who serve both; but these are they who are called "lukewarm, neither cold nor hot," who are "spewed out" (Rev. 3:15-16).

From all this it is now plain what was represented by usurers who took usury, namely, those who do good for the sake of profit.

From this it is clear why it is said that one "should not be as a usurer, and should not put usury upon a brother;" as also in other passages in Moses:

Thou shalt not put on thy brother usury of silver, usury of food, usury of anything on which it is put. Upon a foreigner thou mayest put usury; but upon thy brother thou shalt not put usury; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thine hand unto, in the land whither thou goest to possess it (Deut. 23:19, 20; Lev. 25:36-38);

"to put on a brother the usury of silver" denotes to lend truths, or to instruct, for the sake of profit; "to put the usury of food on him" denotes to lend the goods of truth for the sake of profit; for "silver" denotes truth; and "food," the good of truth.  That "Jehovah will bless those who do not so, in all that they put their hand unto in the land" is because they are in the affection of good and truth, thus in the happiness the angels have in heaven, for a man has heaven in this affection, that is, in the good of this love.

The reason why it was allowable to put usury on foreigners, was that by "foreigners" are signified those who do not acknowledge and receive anything of good and truth.  Thus they who do good only for the sake of profit are to serve man, because they are relatively servants.

~~~

Note the following:

THOSE ARE TREATED OF WHO SHOULD EAT THE PASSOVER TOGETHER, AND THOSE WHO SHOULD NOT

all the statutes commanded to the sons of Israel were laws of order in the external form, but those things which they represented and signified were laws of order in the internal form.

Laws of order are truths which are from good; the complex of all the laws of order is the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of the Lord. From this it is evident that the Divine Itself of the Lord in heaven is order, the Divine good the essential of order, and the Divine truth its formal.

The supper of the passover represented the consociations of the good in heaven; and in the statutes which follow, it is declared who could be consociated and who could not.

In general, feasts, both dinners and suppers, in ancient times were made within the church in order that they might be consociated and conjoined as to love, and that they might instruct one another in those things which are of love and faith, thus in the things of heaven. Such at that time were the delights attending their banquets, and such was the end for the sake of which were their dinners and suppers. Thus the mind and the body also were nourished unanimously and correspondently; and from this they had health and long life, and from it they had intelligence and wisdom; and also from this they had communication with heaven, and some had open communication with angels.

But as in course of time all internal things vanish away and pass into external ones, so also did the purposes of the feasts and banquets, which at this day are not for the sake of any spiritual conjunction, but for the sake of worldly conjunctions, namely, for the sake of gain, for the sake of the pursuit of honors, and for the sake of pleasures, from which there is nourishment of the body, but none of the mind. (from Arcana Coelestia 7995;7996)

~~~

In David:

He that walketh perfect, and that doeth righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart; He that giveth not his silver to usury, and taketh not a gift against the innocent. He that doeth this shall never be moved (Ps. 15:2, 5);

"to give one's silver into usury" denotes to teach merely for the sake of profit, thus to do good for the sake of the recompense.

In like manner in Ezekiel:

A righteous man who doeth judgment and righteousness, giveth not into usury, and taketh not interest (Ezek. 18:5, 8).

He that withholdeth his hand from the needy, that taketh not usury or interest, that doeth My judgments, that walketh in My statutes, living he shall live (Ezek. 18:17).

In thee have they taken a gift to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and interest, and thou hast taken gain of thy companions by violence (Ezek. 22:12).

This is said of the "city of bloods," by which is signified the falsity that destroys truth and good; "taking usury and interest" denotes doing good for the sake of profit and recompense, thus not from charity.

(from Arcana Coelestia 9210)

Things that Befall Us

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

That the things which befell them are things of providence or things provided, is because everything that befalls or happens, which in other words is called accidental, and is ascribed to chance or fortune, is of providence.

Divine providence works thus invisibly and incomprehensibly in order that man may in freedom ascribe an event either to providence or to chance; for if providence acted visibly and comprehensibly, there would be danger of man's believing, from what he sees and comprehends, that it is of providence, and afterward changing into the contrary. Thus truth and falsity would be conjoined in the interior man, and truth would be profaned, which profanation is attended with eternal damnation. Therefore it is better for such a man to be kept in unbelief than to be in faith and then recede from it.

This is what is meant in Isaiah:

Say to this people, Hearing hear ye, but understand not; and seeing see ye, and know not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and besmear their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and their heart should understand, and they should turn again, and be healed (Isa. 6:9-10; John 12:40).

It is for this reason also that miracles are not wrought at this day, for these (miracles), like all visible and comprehensible things, would compel men to believe, and whatever compels takes away freedom; when yet all the reformation and regeneration of man is effected in his freedom. That which is not implanted in freedom does not stay. It is implanted in freedom when the man is in the affection of good and truth.

That miracles so great were wrought among the posterity of Jacob was for the sake of their being compelled to observe the statutes in their outward form; for this was sufficient for those who, being only in the representatives of a church, were in external things separate from internal, and therefore could not be reformed as to the interiors; for they entirely rejected interior things, and therefore they could not profane truths. Men like these could be compelled without danger of profaning what is holy.

That man at this day ought to believe what he does not see, is evident from the Lord's words to Thomas, in John:

Because thou hast seen Me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they who do not see, and yet believe (John 20:29).

That the things which happen (in other words which are ascribed to chance or fortune) are of the Divine providence, the church indeed acknowledges, but still does not believe; for who does not say, when apparently by chance he comes out of some great peril, that he has been preserved by God, and also gives God thanks? And likewise when he is exalted to honors, and also when he becomes wealthy, he calls it a blessing from God. Thus the man of the church acknowledges that what happens is of providence, but still does not believe.

(from Arcana Coelestia 5508)

Who are the "needy" and "poor"?

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
THOSE WHO ARE IN IGNORANCE OF TRUTH
AND YET LONG TO LEARN

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?And the King shall answer and say unto them,

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying,

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

(Matthew 25:31-46)

~~~

In the Word it is frequently said that benefits are to be conferred on the poor and needy. Those who are in external truths, and who are not yet initiated into internal truths, believe that benefits are to be conferred on all who need any kind of help, and especially on beggars, who call themselves poorer than others. They who do this from obedience, because it has been so commanded, do well - for by this outward thing they are initiated into the internal of charity and mercy.

The internal of charity and mercy consists in clearly discerning who and of what character are those upon whom benefits are to be conferred, and in what manner to each one. They who are at last initiated into the internal of charity and mercy know that this very internal consists in willing well and in doing well to the internal man, thus with such things as conduce to spiritual life; and that the external consists in doing well to the external man, thus with such things as conduce to the bodily life, but yet with such prudence, that while the external man is benefited the internal man may also be benefited at the same time. For he who does well to the external man and ill to the internal man, does not practice charity; and therefore when the one is done, the other must also be looked to.

It is the external of charity which is described in the external or literal sense of the Word by the injunction that benefits are to be conferred on the poor and needy; but it is the internal of charity which is described in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word - for in this sense is meant the internal man who is in poverty and need, and who is to be benefited.

In this sense by "the poor and needy" are meant those who are in lack and ignorance of good and truth, and yet long for good and truth. The Word also teaches in the letter how these are to be aided, especially the Word which the Lord Himself taught when He was in the world; for the Lord then disclosed such things as belong to the internal man, as is plain in the Evangelists throughout. But still He spoke in such a manner that every word had an internal sense for the angels, and at the same time for the man of the internal church - for the internal sense contains such things as the genuine doctrine of the church teaches.

Take for example what the Lord said to the disciples sent by John the Baptist to inquire whether He was the Lord who should come; to whom He replied:

Go ye and tell John what things ye have seen and heard: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, to the poor the gospel is preached (Luke 7:20-22)

these words were spoken for the external man, and at the same time for the internal man; for the external man that such miracles were wrought; for the internal, that the church is being set up among such as in the spiritual sense are blind, lame, leprous, deaf, and poor, thus among the Gentiles who are in ignorance of good and truth, and yet long for them.

For those are called "blind" who are in ignorance of truth; "lame," those who are in good, but on account of their ignorance of truth, not in genuine good; "leprous," those who are unclean and yet long to be made clean; "deaf," those who are not in the faith of truth, because not in the perception of it; and "poor," those who have not the Word, and thus know nothing of the Lord, and yet long to be instructed. Consequently it is said that "to these the gospel shall be preached."

That by "the poor and needy" in the internal sense are meant those outside the church who are in ignorance of truth, because they have not the Word, and yet long to be instructed, and who by means of that which they know are nevertheless in a little good; and also those within the church who from various causes are ignorant of truth, but nevertheless by virtue of some good long for it, is evident from passages where "the poor and needy" are mentioned in the Word, as in David:

I am needy and poor; make haste unto me, O God; my help and my deliverer, O Jehovah (Ps. 70:5);

these words were spoken by David, who was not poor and needy, from which it is evident that spiritual poverty and need are meant. In like manner elsewhere:

I am needy and poor; O Lord, remember me, my help and my deliverer (Ps. 40:17).

God shall judge His people in righteousness, and His needy in judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the hills in righteousness. He shall judge the needy of the people. He shall save the sons of the poor, and shall break in pieces the oppressor (Ps. 72:2-4);

"the needy" here denote those who are in spiritual need, and thus in the hunger, that is, in the longing to be willing to be instructed in truths.

In the same:

All my bones shall say, O Jehovah, who is like unto Thee, who deliverest the needy from him that is stronger than he; yea, the needy and the poor from them that plunder him? (Ps. 35:10);

the "bones" denote memory-truths; "the needy," those who are in but little truth; and "the poor" those who are in but little good, and are infested by evils and falsities. From these infestations the needy are also called in the original tongue "the afflicted," for "to be afflicted" denotes to be infested by falsities. Again in the following passages:

The wicked lieth in wait in the tent to catch the needy; he doth catch the needy, and draweth him into his net (Ps. 10:9).

Is not this the fast, to break bread to the hungry, and to bring into the house the needy that are cast out? (Isa. 58:6-7).

Jehovah hath comforted His people, and will have mercy upon His needy ones (Isa. 49:13).

I will leave in the midst of thee a people needy and feeble, who hope in the name of Jehovah (Zeph. 3:12).

In these passages "the needy" denote those who are in ignorance of truth and long to be instructed.

(from Arcana Coelestia 9209)

Turn Whither He Will

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Before the natural man is conjoined with the spiritual, or the external with the internal, he is left to think whether he desires to get rid of the concupiscences* arising from the love of self and of the world, together with the things by which he has defended them, and to yield the command to the spiritual or internal man. He is left to think this in order that he may be free to choose what he will.

When the natural man apart from the spiritual thinks about this, he rejects it — for he loves his concupiscences because he loves himself and the world. Hence he becomes anxious, and supposes that if these were got rid of he would have no life left, for he vests everything in the natural or external man; or supposes that afterward he could do nothing of himself, and all that he would think, will, and do, would flow in through heaven, thus that he would not be his own master any longer. When the natural man on being left to himself is in this state, he draws back and resists.

But when some light flows into his natural through heaven from the Lord, he begins to thinks differently, namely, that it is better for the spiritual man to have the supremacy, because thereby he can think and will what is good, and so can come into heaven, but not if the natural man were to rule. And when he reflects that all the angels in the universal heaven are of this character, and that they are consequently in unspeakable joy, he then fights with the natural man, and at last desires it to be subordinated to the spiritual man. In this state is the man placed who is to be regenerated, in order that he may be in freedom to turn whither he will; and so far as he turns to this in freedom, so far he is being regenerated.

(from Arcana Coelestia 5650)
*concupiscences: longing; eager desire for; lust; expressing intense force

The Conjunction of Good and Truth

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

THE MARRIAGE OF A MAN AND A WOMAN IS REPRESENTED THE CONJUNCTION OF TRUTH AND GOOD
(that by "a man" is signified truth, and by "a woman" good)

Those who are in good, and do not long for truth, are not in good. The reason is that good becomes good by means of truths, for good receives its quality from truths. It is good conjoined with truth that is meant by "spiritual good;" and therefore when truth perishes with a man, good also perishes; and conversely, when good perishes, truth also perishes; for the conjunction is drawn asunder and dispersed. Thus good is known from the fact that it longs for truth and is affected with truth for the sake of a good use, thus for the sake of life.

Regarded in itself the very longing, that is, the very affection of truth for the sake of life, is the affection of conjunction.

This is like the longing of food or bread for water or wine, for the sake of conjunction; for when they are conjoined they nourish. It is also like light and heat, in that light conjoined with heat produces all things on the earth, and causes them to grow; but if the conjunction is severed, that which has been produced and has grown, perishes.

As it is with good, so it is with all delight, pleasantness, sweetness, consent, and harmony. These things are not such from themselves, but from the things which are in them, the conjunction causing them to be such, and they being such according to the conjunction. But what things therein bear relation to good, and what to truth, may be known to the intelligent if they consider. For all things whatsoever that are in the world and that are in heaven, thus that are in the universe, bear relation to good and truth; and everything produced by these bears relation to both together, and thus to their conjunction. For this reason the ancients likened all things to marriage, and in each particular of the Word there is the marriage of good and truth.

TRUTHS PERISH WITH THOSE WHO DO NOT LONG FOR GOOD

With regard to this conjunction it is to be said further, that truths which are conjoined with good always have within them a longing to do what is good, and at the same time, to thereby conjoin themselves more closely with good; or, what is the same, those who are in truths always long to do what is good, and thus to conjoin good with their truths; and therefore those who believe themselves to be in truths and do not long to do what is good, are not in truths; that is, they are not in the faith of these truths, howsoever they may suppose themselves to be so.

This is described by the Lord by "salt," where He says in Matthew:

Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men (Matt. 5:13);

these words the Lord says to the disciples and to the people. By "the salt of the earth" is meant the truth of the church which longs for good; by "the salt that has lost its savor" is meant truth without any longing for good; that such truth is profitable for nothing is described by "the salt that has lost its savor being thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot." To long for good is to long to do what is good, and in this way to be conjoined with good.

So in Mark:

Everyone shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good; but if the salt have lost its saltiness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and cherish peace one with another (Mark 9:49-50);

"to be salted with fire" denotes the longing of good for truth; and "to be salted with salt" denotes the longing of truth for good; "salt that has lost its saltiness" denotes truth without any longing for good; "to have salt in oneself" denotes to have this longing.

So in Luke:

Every one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the land, nor for the dunghill: they cast it out (Luke 14:33-35);

here in like manner "salt" denotes truth longing for good; and "salt that has lost its savor," truth which is without any longing for good; "it is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill" denotes that it does not conduce to any use, either good or evil. Those who are in such truth are those who are called "lukewarm," as is plain from the words which precede, that "no one can be a disciple of the Lord who does not renounce all that he has," that is, who does not love the Lord above all things; for those who love the Lord, and likewise themselves, in an equal degree, are those who are called "lukewarm," and who are not fit for either a good use or an evil use.

In Moses:

Every offering of thy meat-offering shall be salted with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to cease upon thy meat-offering; upon every offering thou shalt offer salt (Lev. 2:13);

that "in every offering there should be salt" signified that the longing of truth for good, and of good for truth, should be in all worship. Consequently this "salt" is called "the salt of the covenant of God," for "a covenant" denotes conjunction and "salt" the longing for conjunction.

When the one longs to be reciprocally conjoined with the other, that is, good with truth and truth with good, they then mutually regard each other; but when truth sunders itself from good, then each turns away from the other, and looks backward, or behind itself. This is signified by Lot's wife becoming a pillar of salt, as in Luke:

Whosoever shall be upon the house, and his vessels in the house, let him not go down to take them away; and whosoever is in the field, let him likewise not turn back to the things behind him. Remember Lot's wife (Luke 17:31-32).  (That this is "to look behind" one's self, or "backward.")

That "salt" signifies the longing of truth, is because salt renders the earth fertile, and makes food palatable, and because there is in salt something both fiery and at the same time conjunctive; as there is in truth an ardent longing for good and at the same time for conjunction. A "pillar of salt" denotes disjunction from truth; for in the opposite sense "salt" signifies the destruction and vastation of truth (Zeph. 2:9; Ezek. 47:11; Jer. 17:6; Ps. 107:33, 34; Deut. 29:23; Judges 9:45; and 2 Kings 2:19-22). These things have been adduced in order that it may be known what is meant by the longing of truth for good, and the longing of good for truth.

(from Arcana Coelestia 9206; 9207)