9433. Out of the midst of the cloud. That this signifies out of the obscurity there was before, is evident from the signification of "the cloud," as being the ultimate of the Word, which is therefore relatively obscure (of which above, n. 9430). That this is "the cloud" is because the Divine truth which is from the Lord cannot possibly appear in the very brightness in which it is, for man would thereby perish, because his understanding would be totally blinded by the light of truth, and his will would be wholly extinguished by the fire of good; thus all his life would he annihilated. Hence it is that Divine truth is accommodated to each person's apprehension, and is as it were veiled with a cloud, even with the angels (n. 6849). Among spirits this veiling appears like a cloud, which is dense or thin according to the reception of each one. [2] This is meant by these words in Isaiah:
Jehovah createth over every habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud by day, and a smoke and the shining of a flame of fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a covering. And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert against flood and against rain (Isa. 4:5, 6);
"the habitation of Mount Zion" denotes heaven and the church; "her assemblies" denote goods and truths; "a cloud by day, a smoke by night, and a covering" denote the veiling of truth Divine, thus its accommodation to apprehension. (That the "glory over which there was to be a covering" denotes the Divine truth which is from the Lord, see n. 9429.) "A pavilion" denotes the ultimate of truth Divine which hides the interior things; that it shall be "for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge against flood and rain," is in order that man may be safe, and may not suffer any harm. [3] The veiling of Divine truth is also described in David:
O Jehovah my God, Thou art very great, Thou art clothed with glory and honor, who covereth Himself with light as with a garment, who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds His chariot. He foundeth the earth upon her bases, that it should not be moved for ever and ever. Thou hast covered it with the abyss as with a garment. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over (Ps. 104:1-9). The "glory and honor with which Jehovah," that is, the Lord, "clothes Himself," denote Divine truth (see n. 9429); the "light with which He is covered as with a garment" denotes Divine truth such as it is in heaven and in the church; that this truth is meant by "light" in the Word, see what was cited above (n. 9429); the "chambers whose beams He layeth in the waters" denote the societies of heaven; and the "waters" denote truths (n. 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323); the "clouds that He maketh His chariot" denote the truths from which is doctrine, a "chariot," being doctrine (n. 5321, 8215); "the earth," of which it is said that "He foundeth it upon her bases that it should not be moved forever," denotes the church (that "the earth" in the Word denotes the church, see what was cited above, n. 9325); the "bases on which it is founded" denote truths in ultimates, such as are those of the Word in its literal sense; hence it is said that "it should not be moved forever;" "the abyss with which it is covered as with a garment" denotes external truth for the natural man (n. 6431, 8278). From this it is plain what is meant by the "bound set that they may not pass over," namely, that it is the ultimate of truth Divine, in which the interior things terminate, and on which as on a support and a foundation they subsist and rest, as was said above.
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