Spiritual Life and the Word of God

s," shall now be explained. "To bear false witness" signifies in the sense

es to falsity the truth and good of the Word, and on the other hand to prove a falsity of doctrine to be true by confirming it by means of fallacies, appearances, fabricati

ll as the witness himself acts the part of a false witness. The same is true of every man who makes what is straight to appear crooked, and what is crooked to appear straight; likewise any ecclesiastical

through heaven. And when, in consequence, the man loves truth and loves justice he loves the Lord, for the Lord is truth itself and justice itself. And when a man loves truth and justice it

h and Tenth

that he continually longs for. But lusts belong to the love of evil, while desires and affections belong to the love of good. Now because love of the world and love of self are the fountains of all lusts, and all evil lusts are forbidden in these last two commandments, it follows that the ninth commandment forbids the l

piritual internal sense the things that are his own, that is, the wife means affection for spiritual truth and good, "man-servant and maid-servant," affection for rational truth and good serving the spiritual, and "ox and ass" affection for natural good and truth. These signify in the Word such affections; but because covet

has been said before, all lusts are of love, for it is love that covets; and as there are two evil loves to which all lusts have reference, namely, love of the world and love of self, i