December19

My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation: A Will to Act

And a response· was ·made to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not◦ see◦ death before he had seen◦ the Lord’s Christ. And he came by◦ the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents were bringing◦ in the little··Child Jesus, to do for▵ Him according··to the custom of the law, he even received◦ Him into his arms◦, and blessed God, and said◦, Now Thou sendest Thy servant away in peace, O Lord◦, according··to Thy saying; for my eyes have seen◦ Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light for a revelation for the nations, and the glory of Thy people Israel. (Luke 2:26-32)

That by “Jehovah hearing,” from which Simeon was named, in the interior sense is signified obedience, and in the internal sense faith in the will from the Lord alone,. They who have faith of the will, receive life; wherefore it is said, “they that hear shall live.” (Arcana Coelestia 3869.4)

The good of truth which is with those who are of the spiritual kingdom is implanted in the intellectual part, for there is formed by the Lord in this part a new will, which is that the man wills to do according to the truth that he has drawn from the teaching of his church; and when he wills and does this truth, it becomes with him good, and is called “spiritual good,” and also “the good of truth.” (Arcana Coelestia 8521.2)

A man is not in heaven until he is in good. If he is only in the truths which are called matters of faith, he merely stands before the door; and if from these truths he looks to good, he enters into the vestibule; but if from these truths he does not look to good, he does not see heaven, not even from afar. It is said that a man is not in heaven until he is in good, because while a man is in the world he ought to have heaven in himself, in order that he may enter into it after death. For heaven is in man, and is in mercy given to those who, while they live in the world, suffer themselves to be brought through the truths of faith into charity toward the neighbor and into love to the Lord; that is, into good. ... a man is not in heaven until he is in the state of being led by the Lord by means of good, ... By “good” is meant the good of life, and the good of life is to do what is good from willing it, and to will good is from love; for that which a man loves he wills. (Arcana Coelestia 9832)

Instruct me, O Jehovah, in the way of Thy statutes; and I will observe it to the last. (Psalm 119:33)

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