heaven and the Lord; for the Lord cannot dwell except in good; he dwells indeed in truth, but not in truth separate from good: That the Lord doth not damn any one, or judge him to hell, He himself saith in John iii. 17, 19. A. C. 2335. See also the Treatise on the Lord, n. 25.

By judgment is signified arrangement, the reason of which signification is, because divine truth doth not judge any one, but flows-in and arranges that it may be received; from reception judgment is afterwards effected according to the laws of order, and this is meant by the judgnient of the Lord, Matt. xxv. 31 to the end. John v. 22, 26, 27, 30; chap. ix. 39. That this is meant, is manifest from the Lord's words, where He saith that He judges no one, John iii. 17 to 21. A. C. n. 8685.

Verse 19. And men loved darkness rather than light, &c. The Lord calls himself the light, because He was the divine truth itself when in the world; hence by light is signified the Lord as to divine truth, and also divine truth from the Lord; and whereas darkness is opposed to light, by the darkness which men loved more than light is signified the infernal false principle, which is the false of evil; that it is the false of evil, which in this passage is signified by darkness, is manifest from its being said, because their works were evil, since from evil works or from evils of life exists the false of evil; for as good conjoins to itself truth, so evil conjoins to itself the false, inasmuch as one is of the other. Ap. Ex. n. 526.

Light denotes truths, and darkness denotes falses; light also denotes the Lord, because from Him is all truth; darkness denotes the hells, because thence is every thing that is false. A. C. n. 1839.

Verse 21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, &c. Charity alone doth not produce good works, still less faith alone, but charity and faith together do produce; the reason is, because charity without faith is not charity, neither is faith without charity faith; wherefore solitary charity is not given, nor solitary faith, hence neither can it be said that charity by itself produces any good works, nor faith by itself; the case herein is similar as with will and understanding, for solitary will is not given, consequently neither doth it produce any thing; nor is solitary understanding given, nor is it productive, but all production is effected by both together, and thus by understanding grounded in the will; the reason why the case is similar is, because the will is the habitation of charity, and the understanding is the habitation of faith; the reason why faith alone is still less productive is, because faith is truth, and its operation is to do truths, and these illuminate charity and its exercises; that

they illuminate, the Lord teaches, where He says, "He who dveth truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made. manifest, inasmuch as they are wrought in God," John iii. 21; wherefore when man doeth good works according to truths, he doeth them in light, that is, intelligently and wisely. T. C. R. n. $77.

From these considerations it is evident, that truths are the means by which the good of love exists, and becomes something; consequently, that good loves truths that it may exist. Hence in the Word by doing truth is understood to make good to exist. This is meant by doing truth, John iii. 21; by doing the Lord's sayings, Luke vi. 47; by doing His precepts, John xiv. 24; by doing His words, Matt. vii. 20; by doing the Word of God, Luke viii. 21; and by doing statutes and judgments, Levit. xvii. 5. This also is meant by doing good and producing fruit, for good and fruit is that which exists. Doc. of Life,

n. 39.

Verse 27. John answered and said, A man cannot take any thing, except it be given him from heaven. That wisdom, iutelligence, reason, and science, are not of man, but of the Lord, is clearly manifest from the things which the Lord taught, as in Matthew, where the Lord compares himself to a householder, who planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and let it out to husbandmen, xxi. 33. And in John, The Spirit of truth shall lead you into all truth, for He shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever things He shall hear, He shall speak; He will glorify me, because He will take of mine, and will announce it to you, xvi. 13, 14: Again, A man cannot take any thing, unless it be given him from heaven, iii. 27. A. C. ň.

124.

In the church there is not any other truth given than what is of the Lord; the truth which is not from Him, is not truth, as is also manifest from the Word, and thence from the doctrine of faith; from the Word in John, A man cannot take any thing, unless it be given him from heaven, iii. 27; and in another place, Without me ye cannot do any thing, xv. 5; and from the doctrine of faith, teaching that the all of faith, that is, all truth is from the Lord. A. C. n. 2904.

That man cannot do good, which in itself is good, except from the Lord, He himself teaches in John, Abide in me, and I in you, for without me ye cannot do any thing, xv. 4, 5. And again, A man cannot take any thing, unless it be given him from heaven. T. C. R. n. 439.

Verse 29. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom, &c. The bride denotes the truth which is of faith of the church, and the bridegroom denotes the good which is of love of the

church, each from the Lord; thus they denote the man of the church, with whom good is conjoined with truths, A. C. n.. 9182.

But the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and heareth him, &c. By hearing is signified to receive in the memory and to be instructed, also to receive in the understanding and to believe, and likewise to receive in obedience; and to hear a voice denotes to be instructed concerning the precepts of faith, and to receive them in faith and obedience. A. C. n. 9311.

Verse 32. And what He hath seen and heard that He testifieth, &c. The divine truth proceeding from the Lord is called a testimony from this circumstance, that it testifies concerning the Lord, as appears from the words of the Lord himself in John, He who cometh from heaven is above all; what He hath seen and heard, this He testifies. A. C. n. 9503.

Verse 34. For He whom God hath sent, &c. In the Word it is sometimes said of the Lord, that He was sent by the Father, but in all cases by being sent is signified in the internal sense to go forth, as in John," They have received and known truly, that I came forth from thee, and they have believed that thou hast sent me," xvii. 8; the same is the signification of being sent in this passage. A. C. 2397.

For God giveth not the spirit by measure. By the spirit which God gives, is signified the divine truth, and thence intelligence and wisdom; by not giving it by measure is signified above all quantity and quality of men, consequently what is infinite, for the infinite appertaining to the Lord hath not quantity and quality, inasmuch as quantity and quality are properties of what is finite, for quantity and quality determine what is finite, and terminate it; but what is without termination is infinite; from which consideration it follows, that measure also here signifies quality, since not by measure signifies without predication of quality. Ap. Ex. 629.

Spirit here denotes intelligence and wisdom; to speak the words of God denotes divine truths, A. C. n. 9818.

Verse 35. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand. That the things which are in the beavens and in the earths are the Lord's, is manifest from very many passages in the Word, as well from those which are in the Old Testament, as from these in the evangelists, Matt. xi. 27; Luke x. 22; John iii. 34, 35; chap. xvii. 2; Matt. xxviii, 18; and whereas the Lord rules the universal heaven, He rules likewise all the things which are in the universal earths, for He who rules one rules all, inasmuch as from the heaven of angels depends the heaven of angelic spirits, from this the world of spirits, from this again the human race; and in like manner all

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things which are in the world and nature are dependant on the heavens, for without influx from the Lord through the heavens, nothing at all would exist and subsist which is in nature and her threefold kingdom. A. C. n. 2026.

That in the heavens no other divine [being or principle] is acknowledged and worshipped, but the Lord as to the divine human [principle], may be manifest from the Lord's words in the evangelists, as from the following, All things are delivered to me by the Father, Matt. xi. 27. The Father hath given all things into the hand of the Son, John iii. 34, 35. The Father hath given to the Son power over all flesh, John xvii. 2; see also John xv. 5; chap. xvii. 11; Matt. xxviii. 16. A. C. 10067. See also n. 3704.

Verse 36. He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life, &c. The very essence and life of faith is the Lord alone, for he who. doth not believe in the Lord, cannot have life, as it is written in John, He who believeth in the Son hath eternal life, but he who believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. A. C. 30.

Hence may appear what the lot of those is in the other life, who are born within the church, and still in heart deny the Lord, whatsoever may be their quality as to moral life; by abundant experience also it hath been given to know, that such cannot be saved, as the Lord likewise openly teaches in John, iii. 36. A. C. n. 10112.

The reason why an acknowledgment of the divine [principle] itself in the human [principle] of the Lord is an essential of the church, and hence an essential of its worship, is, because the salvation of the human race depends solely on that union; for the sake of effecting that union also the Lord came into the world; therefore likewise the whole Word in the inmost sense treats of it, and the rituals of the church established among the sons of Israel represented and signified it: That the salvation of the human race is from that source, the Lord teaches in several passages, as in John, He who believeth in the Son hath eternal life, but he who believeth not the Son, shall not see life, where the Son denotes the divine human [principle] of the Lord The reason why they have not eternal life who do not acknowledge the Lord from a principle of faith, is, because the whole heaven is in that acknowledgment. A. C. 10379.

They who are born within the church ought to acknowledge the Lord, His divine [principle] and His human, and to believe in Him and love Him, for from the Lord is all salvation: This the Lord teaches in John, chap. iii. 36. A, C. 10817. See also the Treatise on the Lord, n. 55.

The anger of God abideth on him. When anger is attributed

in the Word to Jehovah, it doth not denote anger, but the opposite to anger, thus mercy: That Jehovah hath not any anger, is evident from this consideration, that He is love itself, good itself, and mercy itself, and anger is an opposite, and also is an infirmity, which cannot be predicated of God; wherefore when anger in the Word is predicated of Jehovah, or the Lord, the angels do not perceive anger, but either mercy, or the removal of evil from heaven. The reason why anger is attributed to Jehovah or the Lord in the Word, is, because it is a most general truth that all things come from God, thus both evils and goods; but this most general truth, which is intended for infants, for boys, and for the simple, ought afterwards to be illustrated, viz, by shewing that evils are from man, but that they appear as if they were from God, and that it is so said to the intent that they may learn to fear God, and not perish by the evils which they do, and that afterwards they may love Him, for fear must precede love, to the intent that in love there may be holy fear; for when fear is insinuated into love, it becomes holy from the holy principle of love, and in such case it is not a fear of the Lord's anger and punishment, but lest they should act against essential good, because this will torment the conscience. Moreover the Israelites and Jews were driven to observe the statutes and precepts in the external form by punishments, and hence they believed that Jehovah was angry and punished, when yet they themselves induced such things by their idolatry; hence by anger, wrath, fury, fire, are meant the punishments and damnations into which man casts himself, when into evils. That punishment and damnation are signified by anger, appears from John iii. 36. A. C. n. 6997.

CHAPTER III.

Translator's Notes and Observations.

VERSE 3. Except a man be born from above, &c. What is here rendered from above is expressed, in the common version of the New Testament, by the term again, but in the original Greek the term is avwev, which means literally from above, and thus expresses the important and edifying idea, that man's new birth is from a principle or power superior to himselt.

Verse 5. He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. It was