Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10573

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10573. Verses 18-23 And he said, Cause me, I beg You, to see Your glory. And He said, I will cause all My goodness to pass bya your face, and I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before you; and I will be gracious to whom I am gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I show mercy. And He said, You cannot see My face, for no one will see Me and liveb. And Jehovah said, Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. And so it will be, as My glory passes through, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover My palm over you until I have passed through. And I will take My palm away, and you will see My back parts; and My face will not be seen.

'And he said, Cause me, I beg You, to see Your glory' means discernment on the external level of Divine Truth within. 'And He said, I will cause all My goodness to pass by your face' means causing everything Divine which composes heaven and the Church to pass by the external [separated from the internal as it existed with Moses and the nation he headed]. 'And I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before you' means the holiness of the Divine worship there. 'And I will be gracious to whom I am gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I show mercy' means that Divine Truth and Good will be revealed to those who are receptive. 'And He said, You cannot see My face' means that things which are interior and Divine in the Church, worship, and the Word cannot be revealed to the Israelite nation. 'For no one will see Me and live' means that the essential nature of the Divine Himself can be seen only through the Lord in heaven. 'And Jehovah said, Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock' means a state of faith in God. 'And so it will be, as My glory passes through' means the interior things of the Word, the Church, and worship. 'That I will put you in a cleft of the rock' means obscurity and falsity of faith such as exists with those whose interest lies in external things and not in what is internal. 'And cover My palm over you until I have passed through' means shutting off what is internal. 'And I will take My palm away, and you will see My back parts; and My face will not be seen' means that they would see the external things of the Word, the Church, and worship, but not the internal.

Notes

a lit. pass by before
b lit. for the human being does not see Me and live


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