Angelic Wisdom about Divine ProvidenceSwedenborg, Emanuel
Religion
Angelic Wisdom about Divine Providence
Swedenborg, Emanuel
Providence and government of God -- Christianity
181. The like occurs in the spiritual things of the mind to what occurs
in the natural things of the body for the reason that all things of the
mind correspond to all things of the body. For the same reason the mind
actuates the body in externals and generally does so completely. It moves
the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the mouth and tongue to eat and drink,
also to speak, the hands to do, the feet to walk, the generative organs
to propagate. The mind not only moves the externals in these ways but the
internals, too, in their whole series, outmosts from inmosts and inmosts
from outmosts. Thus while moving the mouth to speak, it moves lungs,
larynx, glottis, tongue and lips at the same time, each separately to its
especial function, and the face suitably also.
[2] It is clear then that the same can be said of the spiritual forms of
the mind as was said of the natural forms of the body, and the same can
be said of the spiritual activities of the mind as was said of the
natural activities of the body. Consequently the Lord orders the
internals as a man does the externals, in one way if the man orders the
externals of himself and in another if he orders them under the Lord and
at the same time as of himself. The mind of man is also in its total
organization a man, for it is his spirit which appears after death
altogether as a human being as in the world; hence there are similar
things in mind and body. Thus what has been said about the conjunction of
externals with internals in the body is to be understood of the
conjunction of externals with internals in the mind, with the sole
difference that the latter is spiritual and the former is natural.
182. ( iii) _If man beheld divine providence plainly he would either deny
God or make himself god._ The merely natural man says to himself, "What
is divine providence? Is it anything else or more than an expression
which people get from a priest? Who sees anything of it? Is it not by
prudence, wisdom, cunning and malice that all things are done in the
world? Is not all else necessity or consequence? And does not much happen
by chance? Does divine providence lie concealed in this? How can it do so
in deceptions and schemes? Yet it is said that divine providence effects
all things. Then let me see it and I will believe in it. Can one believe
in it until he sees it?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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