BRJIEJF READJINGS FROM:

SWEDENBORG 'V'

\ .. ~I~ ) ·· .. ! .. ··

when Sorrow eomes

No. 7 in a series of readings from the Writings of Ema11ucl Swedc11/;org

THE contents of this Brief Reading arc taken, from "Arcana Coelestia," "Divine Providence," "Heaven, and Hell," "Apoca­lypse Explained," "True Christian Reli­gion," "Charity," "Heavenly Doctrine." The initials and numerals at the end of each var­agrapb indicate the book and section from which the extract is taken.

The above named works, as well as all the other theological writings by Emanuel Swe­denborg, are published by the Swedenborg Foundation, Inc., which offers an Intro­ductory Edition at Sc. per voli.Jme, (600 pages) postpaid, in, the following titles:

"Heaven and Helf," "Divine Providence,"

"Divine Love and Wisdom,"

"Four Doctrines."

Arcana Coelestia, Vol. (Heavenly Secrets)

Additional copies of thi s Booklet, and Catalogue may be secured free of

charge from the publishers

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SWEDENBORG FouNnA'f'ION, INc.

51 E . Forty-Second St. New York, 17, N. Y.

'Tu.Jhen Sorrow (?omes GoD's LOVING CAR.Li

i71"HE Lord is with every man and leads W him, and provides that whatever befalls him, whether sad or joyful, shall turn to his good. This is. the Divine providence.­A. C. 6203

They who trust in the Lord, continually receive good from Him; for whatsoever be­falls them, whether it appear as prosperity or as adversity, is still good, since it is in­tended as a· means to their eternal happi­.ness.-A. c. 84803

No evil can happen to him who is in the protection of the Lord, for it is not the will of the Lord that anyone should perish or be punished; but every one is so far in the pro­tection of the Lord as he abstains from do­ing evil.-A. E. 643

"Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me" (Psalm 23 ) signifies that spiritual Di­vine truth together with natural Divine truth will protect, for these have power; "rod" meaning spiritual Divine truth, "staff" natural Divine truth, the two to­gether mean these in respect to their power to protect, for "to comfort" means to pro­tect.-A. E. 7272

From the only fountain of life, which is the Lord, there proceeds nothing but Di­

. vine good and Divine truth, and these af-

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feet every one according to his reception of them ; they who receive them in faith and life have heaven in them; but they who reject them, or stif1 e them, turn them into hell; for they turn good into evil and truth into falsity, thus life into death.-H. H. 9

The Lord provides the good . . . with such things as conduce to their eternal hap­piness; riches and honors to whom they are not hurtful, and no riches and honors to whom they would be hurtful. And yet to these He gives in due time, in tht: place of honors and riches [the ability] to find joy in a few things, and to be more content than the rich and honored.-A. c. 8717

The influx of good from the Lord with man is continuous; but there are evils both actual and hereditary which hinder and ob­struct the reception of it; when they are re­moved, a · new will comes into existence. That it then exists, is obvious in the case of those who are in misfortune, misery, and illness; when in these states the loves of self and of the world (from which come all evils) are removed, the man then thinks well concerning God, and concerning the neighbor.-A. c. 5353

That the Lord's providence is in.finite, and looks to eternity, may be evident from the formation of an embryo where linea­ments are continually developed toward those which are to come, so that one is al­ways a plane for another, and this without

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any error,. until the embryo is fom1ed. Afterward also when it is born, one thing is prepared successively to another and for another, that a perfect man may exist, and at length such a man as to be capable of at­taining heaven. If particulars are thus pro­vided during rrian's conception, birth, and growth, how much more so as to his spirit­ual life.-A. c. 6491

HAVE PEACE

Peace can be bestowed on no one unless he is led by the Lord and is in the Lord, that is, in heaven where the Lord is all in all ; for heavenly peace flows in when the desires arising from self-love and fove of the world are taken away. These are what drive peace away, for they infest man's in­teriors, [his soul or spirit] and cause him at length to place rest in unrest, and peace in worries.- A. c. 5662

Angels know that rest of mind and tran­quility and enjoyment from the removal of cares and from success in business, appear as of peace, but are not of peace, except with those who are in' heavenly good, since true peace is not given except in that good: For ,peace flows in from the Lord into man's soul, and from this descends and !lows down into the lower regions of the mind, ·producing rest of the rational mind, tranquility of the natural mind, and joy therefrom.-H. H. 290

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That innocence and peace are together like good and its delight may be seen with little children, who because they are in in­nocence are also in peace; and because they are in peace, all things with them are full of play. But the peace of little children is outward peace; inward peace, like inward innocence, is not given except to those truly wise since wisdom is from the conjunction of good and truth. This heavenly or angelic peace lies stored up in men's souls and is only reveakd when they leave the body and enter heaven, for then the soul is laid bare. -H. H. 288

He who is in a heavenly state of life is serene and full of peace; for he trusts in the Lord, believing that no evil will befall him, and knowing that lusts will not infest him. And moreover, they who are in a heavenly state are in freedom itself ; for to be led by the Lord is freedom, since by Him they are led in good and from one good to another. From this it may be evident that they are in blessedness and happiness, in­asmuch as thery is nothing to disturb them, nothing of self-love, and consequently noth­ing of enmity, hatred, and revenge; nor is· there any love for the world, consequently no insincerity, fear, or anxiety.-A. c. 5660

So far as a man puts off what is selfish or worldly, so far a state of peace is re­vealed, and so far he is affected with satis­faction, blessedness, and happiness, the ori-

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gin of which is from the Lord Himself.­A. C. 8455

ETERNAL LIFE AND HAPPINESS

Heaven is sucl-. that all who live we11, from whatever religion, have a place there. -D. P. 330

The life of every man is foreseen by the Lord, as to how long he will live, and in what manner, From earliest infancy there~ fore he is directed with regard to a life to eternity. Thus the providence of the Lord commences from earliest infancy.-s. D.

5002 No one suffers punishment after death

on account of inherited evil, because it is not his, and thus he is not responsible for being of this nature; but a man suffers from the evil he himself does and also from what he has appropriated to himself of in­herited evil by actual life.- A. c. 2308

A knowledge of the future is granted to no one; nevertheless, every one is permitted to form conclusions about the future from reason; . . . A longing to know future things is innate with most people; but this longing has its origin in evil, and is there­fore taken away from those. who believe in the Divine Providence. Instead there is given them a trust that the Lord is direct­ing their lot, and consequently they have no wish to know beforehand what it will be,

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lest they should in some way interfere with the Divine Providence.-D. P. 179

That it is not so difficult to lead the life of heaven as some believe can be seen from this, that when any thing presents itself to a man that he knows to be dishonest and un­just, but to which he is inclined, it is simply necessary for him to think it ought not to be done because it is opposed to the ·Divine precepts . . If a man accustoms himself so to think, and from so doing establishes a habit of 'so thinking, he is gradually conjoined to heaven. . . . And when man has made a beginning the Lord quickens all that is good in him, and causes him not only to see evils, but also to refrain from willing them, and finally to turn away from them. This is meant by the Lord's words · "My yoke is easy and My burden is light."~H . H. 533

When the body is no lon'ger able to per­form its functions in the natural world, which functions do correspond to the 'man's thoughts and affections which his spirit has from the spiritual world, man is said to die. This takes place when the respiration of the lungs and the beatings of the heart cease. But the man does not die; he is merely separated from the bodily part that was of use to him in the world, while the man himself continues to live ; for man is not a man because of his body but because of his spirit. It is the spirit that thinks in man, and thought together with the will is

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what constitutes man. Evidently, then, the death of man is merely his passing from one world into another.-n. H. 445

As regards eternal happiness, even the man who has an affection for good and truth cannot perceive this while he is living in the world, but instead a certain enjoy­ment. The reason is, in the body he is in worldly cares, and in anxieties thence, which prevent the happiness of eternal life, which is inwardly in him, from being manifested. When true happiness meets the cares and anxieties that are with the natural man it sinks down among them and becomes a kind of obscure enjoyment; but still it is an en­joyment in which there is a blessedness, and in this a happiness. Such is the happiness of being content in God. But when a man is divested of his body, and at the satl?e time of worldly cares and anxieties, the happiness which lay hid in this manner in obscurity in his interior man, comes forth and re.veals itself.- A. c. 39387

FEAR NOT

Every man is in a state of spiritual tran­quility in .the beginning of his life, hut in proportion as he grows up to manhood he removes himself from that state, because he gives way to worldly cares, and thence to anxieties through self-love and the love of the world.-A. c. 3696

What is good, and indeed what is blessed [ 9}

and happy, no one can perceive with an ex­quisite sense, unless he has been in a state of what is not good, not blessed, and not happy. From this he acquires a sphere of perception, and this in the degree in which he has been in the opposite state. The sphere of perception and its extension arises from the realization of contrasts.-A. c. 26942

God did not create evil, but evil was in­troduced by man himself. By turning him­self away from God and towards himself man turns into evil the good which is con­tinually flowing in from God. When this fs done, although the delight in good may remain, it is changed into delight in [desire for] evil. For unless desire remained man could not continue to live; since delight, or desire, constitute the very life of man.-T. C.R. 490

Every one who duly reflects may know that eminence and wealth in the world are not real Divine blessings, though man from his love of pleasure calls them so, for they pass away and likewise seduce many and turn them away from heaven; but he may know that life in heaven and happiness there are the genuine blessings which are from the Divine.-A. c. 10776. ·

Those who trust in the Divine, 11otwith­standing they have care for the morrow, still have none; for they do not think of the morrow with solicitude, still less with anx-

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iety. They bear it with equanimity, whether they get the things they desire or not ; neither do they lament over the loss of them; they are content with their lot. If they become rich, they do not set the heart upon riches; if they are raised to honors they do not regard themselves as more worthy than others; if they become poor, they are not made sad ; if their condition be mean, they are not dejected. They know that all things advance toward a happy state in eternity ·for those who put their trust in the Divine, and that whatever be­falls them in time still conduces thereto.­A. C. 8478

BE NoT ANxrous

Temptation is anxiety arising from a man's desires being assailed by misfortunes, diseases, or a depraved condition of the blood and other Buids of the body. From this brief account it may, in some degree, be known what temptation is, namely­anguish and anxiety occasioned by what­ever opposes one's desires. Thus with those who are in love to the Lord, whatever as­sails this love produces an inmost torture, which is celestial temptation; with those who are in love toward the neighbor, or charity, whatever assails this love occasions torment of conscience, and this is spiritual temptation ; but with those who are nat­urally minded what they frequently call temptations and the pangs of conscience,

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are not temptations, but only anxieties aris­ing from their loves being assailecl1 as when they foresee and are sensible of the loss of honor, the good things of the world, repu­tation, pleasures, bodily life, and the like; nevertheless these troubles are wont to be productive of some good.-A. c. 8473

All anxiety and grief arise from one's be­ing deprived of the things which he desires. Hence they who are affected only by corpo­real and worldly things, or who love such things only, grieve when they are deprived of them; but they who are affected by spir­itual good and truth and love them, grieve for these. As life depends on nothing but affection or love, it may be evident what is the state of those who are bereft of the good and truth with which they are affected, or which. they love. . Their state of grief is more severe, because more internal.-A. c. 26892

When a business man looks to the Lord and shuns evils as sins, and transacts his business sincerely, justly, and faithfully he becomes a form of charity. Although he acts as from his own prudence he neverthe­less trusts in the Divine: Providence, He is therefore not despondent in misfortune nor elated with success. He thinks of the morrow and yet does not think of it. He thinks about what should be done on the morrow, and how it sh.ould be done; and yet does not really think . of the morrow,

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because he ascribes the future to the Di­vine Providence and not his own prudence. He even ascribes his prudence to the Di­vine Providence. He loves business as the chief thing of his vocation, and loves money as its instrumental. ·Thus he loves his oc­cupation which is in itself a good use, and not the means rather than the occupation. He shuns avarice which is an evil and the root of many evils. He loves the common goo~ while loving his own good.-c. 167

"Care for the morrow" (Matt. vi. 25) does not mean a care for procuring for one­self food and raiment, and even resources for the time to come ; for it is not contrary to order for any one to .be provident for himself arn;l his own. But they have "care for the morrow," who are not content with their lot, who do not trust in the Divine but in themselves, and who regard only worldly and earthly things, and not heavenly things. With such there universally prevails anx­iety for the future, a desire to possess all things and to rule over all, which desire is kindled and grows with acquisition, and at length beyond all measure. Such lament when they do not get the things they desire, and they are distressed when they lose them ; neither is there any consolation for them for they are then angry with the Divine, reject it together with everything of faith, and curse themselves. Such are they who have anxiety for the morrow.-A. c. 8478

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TnouG.HTs ON Jov AND PRAYER

Prayer, regarded in itself, is speech with Cod. If a man prays from love and faith, and only for heavenly and spir­itual things, there then comes forth in the prayer something like revelation as to hope, consolation and a certain inward joy.-A. c. 2535

Love consists in this, that one's own joy may be C[llother's; to feel another's joy as joy in one's self, is to love; but to feel one's own joy in another, and not his joy in one's self, is not to love; for this is to love self, but the other is to love the neighbor.-n. L. W. 47

-True love is love to the Lord, and true life is a life of love from Him. True joy is the joy of that life. There can be but one true love, and therefore but one true life, whence flow true joys and trne bless­ings, such as those of angels in the heavens. -A. C. 33

STRENGTH AND GROWTH THROUGH TRIAL

AND TEMPTATION

Man is distressed in temptations by the evils and falsities that rise up into thought. So far as he then acknowledges his sins, regards himself as guilty, and prays for de­liverance, so far the temptations are useful to him.-A. E. 897

When man is tempted, unclean spirits are near him, and surround him, arid excite the evils and falsities which are with him, and

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also hold him in them and exaggerate them until he is in very despair.-A. c. 5246

Goel tempts no one; but during tempta­tion is continually liberating from them, so far as is possible, or so far as the liberation does not do harm, and He is continually looking to the good into which He is lead­ing him who is being tempted.-A. c. 2768

By temptations the lusts that pertain to the love of self and of the world are sub­dued, and man becomes humble. Thus he is rendered meet to receive the life of heaven from the Lord, which life is the riew life, such as belongs to the regenerated man.-A. c. 8966

Natural temptations are when a man suf­fers in respect to his body, that is, in re­spect to honors, or wealth, in a word, iri re­spect to his natural life, such as diseases, misfortunes, persecutions, undeserved pun­ishments, and the like. The anxieties which then arise are what are meant by natural temptations. But these temptations do not at all affect his spiritual life, neither can they really be called temptations, but griefs ; for they arise from the hurt to the natural life, and have relation to the love of self and the world.-A. c. 8164

Temptations carry with them a doubting in regard to the Lord's presence and mercy, and also in regard to salvation. The evil spirits who are then with the man and in­duce the temptation. strongly inspire the

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negative; but the good spirits and angels from the Lord dispel this doubtfulness in every way, and hold him in continual hope, and at length confirm the affirmative.-A. c. 2338

Spiritual temptations are little known at this day. Not are they permitted to such a _degree as formerly, because man is not in true faith, and would therefore be over­come. In place of these [deeper] tempta­tions there are others, such as misfortunes, griefs, and anxieties, arising from natural and bodily causes, and also sicknesses and diseases of the body; which in a measure subdue and break up the life of a man's sensuous pleasures and lusts, and determine and ele_vate his thoughts to interior and re­ligious subjects.-A. c. 762

WHY THINGS HAPPEN

Nothing is permitted [to occur] except for the end that some good may come out of it; but as man has freedom, in order that he may be reformed, he is bent from evil to good only so far as he suffers him­self to be bent in freedom.- A. c. 6489 ·

\Vhat is attributed to -fortune, eyen in games, is from the spiritual world, much more what befalls man as to vicissitudes in his life ; and what is called fortune is from the influx of providence into the outmosts of order, where it ·so exists; thus that there is providence in the minutest things~ac­cording tO the Lord's w-ords, that not a hair

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falls from the head without the will of God. A. C. 6494

Evil spirits are able to produce a sphere from which come unfortunate circumstances, which appear to be wholly by chance. But all things, even the least, and the least. par­ticulars of these, are directed by the provi­dence of the Lord, even as to each step, and when a sphere prevails as is contrary to providence, misfortunes happen. Yet there is no such thing as chance. Apparent ac­cident, or misfortune, is providence in the material world in which all things are .rela­tively inconstant.-A. c. 6493

Everything that befalls or happens; -0r in other words is called accidental and is ascribed to chance or fortune, .is actually a matter of providence. The Divine Provi­dence operates invisibly and incomprehe'n­sibly in order that man may in freedom ascribe an event either to providence or to chance; for if providence were to act vis~ ibly and comprehensibly, there would be danger of man's believing, from what he sees and comprehends, that the thing was from providence, and afterwards believing the .opposite. Thus truth and falsity would mingle in a man's soul, and truth would be profaned, which profanation carries with it eternal damnation. Therefore it is better for such a man to be kept in imbelief, than to be at one time in faith and then to re­cede from it.-A. c. 5508

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PLACE AND UsE or PLEASURES AND

POSSESSIONS

Some believe that should they be deprived of the joy arising from the glory conse­quent upon posts of honor and wealth, no further joy would be left. But in fact heavenly joy, which infinitely exceeds all other joys, only then begins.-A. c. 8037

Man n.1ay acquire riches and accumulate wealth so far as opportunity is given, pro­vided it be not done with craft and fraud; he may eat and drink delicately, provided he does riot place his life therein; also fre­quent places of amusement and talk al:iout the affairs of the world. He has no need· to walk as a devotee with a sad and sorrow­ful face and drooping head, but may be joy­ful and cheerful.-H. H. 358

Those who renounce the world and live in the spirit in this manner acquire a sor­rowful life which is not receptive of heav­enly joy, since every one's life continues the same after death. On the contrary, to receive the life of heaven a man must live in the world and engage in its business and employments, and by means of a moral and civil life there receive the spiritual life.­H. H. 528·

Man has distinct sensation of what takes place in the bouy, but a very obscure one of what takes place in his spirit, since while man is in the body worldly cares impede. The blessedness of the affections cannot

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flow so far as into bodily sense, where those cares are, unless natural and sensual things have been reduced to agreement with what is good, and even then only obscurely, like tranquility from contentment of mind. · This blessedness is not given to those who are in the enjoyment of the love of self and of the world, for these loves are totally opposite. Therefore also they who are in these loves cannot at all comprehend that there is any blessedness except that of being exalted to dignities, being worshipped as deities , abounding in riches, and possessing greater wealth than others.- A.. c. 64082

As there are few at this day who know what it is to be in a natural state of mind .. and what it is to be in an imernal state, and as most persons believe that they who are in internals cannot ue in externals, and the converse, it is well to offer this illustration: Take the nourishment of the body and the nourishment of the soul: he who is in merely external pleasures, is fastidious, in­dulges his appetite, loves to live sumptu­ously, and places his chief pleasures in choice food and drink. He too who is in internals has pleasure in these things, but his ruling affection is to nourish his body with food pleasurably for the sake of its health, to the end that he may have a sound mind in a sound body, and thtts principally for the sake of the health of the mind, to which the health of the body serves as a

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means. However, he who is a spiritual man does not rest thete, but regards the health of the mind or soul as a means to acquiring intelligence and wisdom- not for the sake of reputation, honors, and gain, but for the sake of the life after death.-A. C. 44596

Some think that no one ought ever to live in the pleasures of the body and its senses who wishes to be happy, but ought to re­nounce all ·such things on the ground that they are corporeal and worldly, keeping him away from a spiritual life. But those who so think, reducing themselves· to volun­tary misery, are not informed what the real case is. No one is forbidden to enjoy the pleasures of the body and its senses, that is, the pleasures of marriage love and of love for infants and children; the pleasures of friendship and of intercourse' with com­panions; the pieasures of hearing, or of the sweetness of singing and music; the pleas­ures of sight, or of beauties, which are manifold ; the pleasures of taste, or of the flavors and benefits of food and drink; the pleasures of touch. These bodily desires arise from spiritual affection and these de­rive their enjoyment from good and truth, and good and truth their enjoyment from charity and faith, and so from the Lord. And since genuine pleasures have this ori­gin, they are denied · to no one.-A. c. 9952, 3

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CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ON THE DIVINE

PROVIDENCE

'l'he Lord does nothing contrary to or<ler, because He Himself is Order.-H. H. 523

Nothing can hurt those whom the Lord protects, even if they should be encom­passed by all hell ·both without and within. -A. C . .968

In the whole spiritual world the purpose that proceeds from the Lord reigns, which is, that nothing at all, not even the least thing, shall exist, except that good may come from it.___:A. c. 6574

It is to be known that there is providence and there is foresight. Good is what is provided by the Lord, but evil is what is foreseen by the Lord. The one must be with the other; for what comes from man is nothing but evil, and what comes from the Lord is nothing but good.-n. D. 275

Divine providence. differs from all other leading and guidance in this, that )?rovi­dence always regards what is eternal and cci~tinually leads to salvation, and this through various states, sometimes glad, sometimes sad, which man cannot at all comprehend ; but still they all lead to his life eternal.-A. c. 8560

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A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF SWEDENBORG

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, the sci­entist, philosopher and religious reformer, was born in Stockholm in 1688. His father was the Bishop of Skara. Early renowned for his learning, and for the extraordinary versatility of his genius, Swedenborg not only anticipated much which is significant in modern science and related departments, but his writings in the fields of philosophy and psychology alone demonstrate his right to a place among the world's great teach­ers. As a culmination to so many years' rich and practical experience, which, as a nobleman, included a voice in his nation's government, Swedenborg in his fifty-fifth year turned from his purely scientific and philosophical pursuits and thereafter, with the Bible as his only textbook, wrote on spiritual subjects alone. He died in Lon­don in 1772 and his remains now lie in Sweden's national cathedral at Upsala.

"Swedenborg was in many re­spects the most remarkable man of his own or any age."-Schaff­H erzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 1911 edition.

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