Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2412

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2412. 'Because of Jehovah's compassion for him' means out of grace and mercy. This is clear from the meaning of 'Jehovah's compassion' which cannot be anything else than grace and mercy. The Lord's withholding man from evil and maintaining him in good is the product of pure mercy, see 1049. The reason both grace and mercy are mentioned is dealt with in 589, 981, that is to say, people who are governed by truth, and from truth by good, plead merely for the Lord's grace, but people who are governed by good, and from that by truth, plead for His mercy. This difference between the two is the result of their dissimilar states of humility and resulting worship.


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