grounded testimony of the heavenly doctrine of the New Jerusalem, by the bright light of which the doctrine of Correspondence is discoverable in all the fulness of its truth, its sanctity, and its importance, and is thus rendered illustrative of the significant language of the human body and all its parts. For let us hear now what the doctrine of the New Jerusalem teaches in reference to the passage from the book of Psalms above quoted. "These words were spoken of the Jews, who were in possession of divine truths, because they had the WORD, as may be manifest from John, chap. xiii. 18. where those words are applied to the Jews; wherefore by eating the LORD's bread is signified the appropriation of divine truth, in the present case its communication, because it could not be appropriated to them: bread signifies the WORD, from which is spiritual nourishment: to lift up the heel above him, signifies to pervert the sense of the letter of the Word even to a denial of the LORD, and to the falsification of all truth; for divine truth is presented in image as a man [homo], whence heaven in the whole complex is called the grand man, and corresponds to all things of man; for heaven is formed according to divine truth proceeding from the LORD; and whereas the Word is divine truth, therefore also this, before the LORD, is in image as a divine man; for this reason its ultimate sense, which is merely the sense of the latter, corresponds to the heel: the perversion of the Word, or of divine truth, by the application of the sense of the letter to falsities, such as were the traditions of the Jews, is signified by lifting up the heel above the LORD. That the universal heaven is in image as a man, and that hence it corresponds to the things of man; and that heaven is such because it was created and formed of the LORD by the divine truth proceeding from himself, which is the Word from which all things were made, [John i. 1, 2, 3.] see the Work concerning Heaven and Hell, n. 59 to 202; also 210 to 212." [Ap. Exp. n. 617.] Here then we again make the glad discovery, not only that the several parts of the human body are significative, and in that view are applied by the ALMIGHTY to express his own divine ideas, but also how infinitely we are indebted to the heavenly doctrine of the New Jerusalem for its instructive comment on the divine language, by virtue of which we are enabled to comprehend, in some measure, the mysterious speech of the the INFINITE and ETERNAL.

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III. An additional proof that the significative and representative character of the several parts of the human body is established by the authority of divine revelation, may be found in the following words extracted from Psalm xliv. v. "Our soul is bowed down to the dust, our belly cleaveth to the earth.” For what eye cannot see, that by the belly cleaving to the earth, in this passage, something else must of necessity be meant than what is expressed in the mere letter? Again therefore we rejoice in the conviction, that the MOST HIGH constructs his divine speech from the organs and members of our bodies, and by this heavenly language imparts to us the most instructive lessons of His own love and wisdom. Again, too, our gratitude is excited towards that divine mercy, which, in these latter days, has been pleased to favour us with the heavenly doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and thus to enable us to interpret that language, and by such interpretation to see the wondrous things of the divine law. For let us hear now what this doctrine teaches in regard to the above words of the inspired Psalmist: "By soul and by belly, in the spiritual sense of the above words, is signified the thought of the understanding, and by being bowed down to the dust and cleaving to the earth, is signified that it is imbued with false principles, for by dust and earth is signified what is infernal and damned; what is infernal and damned, is also signified by walking on the belly and by eating dust, as was said to the serpent, Cursed art thou above all beasts, and above all the wild beasts of the field, on thy belly thou shalt walk, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. Gen. iii. 14." [Ap. Exp. n. 622.] And again, "A state of temptation is signified by the soul being bowed down to the dust and the belly cleaving to the earth; for by soul is signified the faith and understanding of truth; by belly, the faith and understanding of good; the ground of this signification, in regard to the belly, is, because the belly receives food, and by food and bread is signified nutritive good, in this case understanding and faith; the defect of those principles in temptation is signified by being bowed down to the dust and cleaving to the earth." [Ap. Exp. n. 750.] What serious and intelligent mind then will not rejoice and be thankful at discovering, by the light of the above doctrine, the bright beams of the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS shining, in al their instructive splendour, through the cloud of the letter of the HOLY WORD?

III. Our joy and thankfulness are again excited by noting, in the same doctrine, the lucid and edifying exposition of the following words: My soul is among lions, and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." [Psalmı lvii.4.] For let us attend again to the instructive and edifying tendency of that doctrine, whilst we read, that "by lions are signified those who spoil the Church by depriving her of truths, and who thus destroy her; by the sons of men who are set on fire, are signified those who are principled in the truths of the Church, and abstractedly the truths themselves, which are said to be set on fire by the pride of self-intelligence, whence come false principles; their teeth being spears and arrows signify reasonings grounded in external sensual principles, and thus in fallacies and false principles of religion, by which truths are destroyed; teeth signify the ultimates of the life of man, which are external sensual things, in this case reasonings from them, and tongue signifies the false principles of religion, on which account it is said, their tongue is a sharp sword, for by sword is signified the destruction of truth by falses." [Ap. Exp. n. 455.] How evident then again is it that the parts of the human body, even the teeth and tongue, are applied by the ALMIGHTY to express the most edifying and interesting ideas, and that, consequently, they possess a significative and representative character, grounded in the correspondence of that body with the GRAND MAN, or HEAVEN! What a striking testimony, too, in favour of the heavenly doctrine of the New Jerusalem, is the consideration of its tendency to unfold such correspondence, and thus to enable us to interpret the otherwise mysterious and dark language of the MOST HIGH!

IV. In Psalm lviii. ver. 3, we read the following words, "The wicked are estranged from the womb, as soon as they be born, speaking lies," or, as it is expressed in the original, "The wicked are estranged from the womb, they wander away from the belly, speaking lies."

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According to the common interpretation of these words, their meaning is confined to the mere natural or literal signification of the terms womb and belly, and thus they are understood only as announcing the early tendency of the wicked to follow the ways of wickedness. But let us hear now what the heavenly doctrine of the New Jerusalem teaches on this occasion, and let us learn

again to adore the Divine Mercy, which has been pleased to favour us, in these latter days, with the blessed light of that doctrine" By the above words is not meant that the wicked are estranged from the womb, and that they wander away from the belly, that is, from first nativity, for no one, from first nativity, is estranged from GOD, and wanders away; but to be estranged from the womb signifies, that they have receded from good to evil from the first day when they were capable of being reformed; and to wander away from the belly, signifies, that they have receded from truths to falses in like manner: to speak a lie also signifies to believe falses: the reason why they receded from the first day when they were capable of being reformed, is, because the LORD endeavours to reform all, whosoever they be, beginning from childhood, and continuing through adolescence to youth, but that they immediately receded, not suffering themselves to be reformed," [Ap. Ex. n. 710.] From this interpretation then we learn the interesting truth, that the terms womb and belly, are applied by the ALMIGHTY according to their significant and representative meaning, the term womb having reference to, and thus denoting, the inmost good of love, whilst the term belly has reference to, and denotes, the truths derived from that good. [See Ap. Ex. n. 710 throughout.] How then again are we led to rejoice at the discovery, that the several parts of the human body form an alphabet for the construction of divine language, and that every letter is thus replete with a divine and edifying meaning, consequently with a divine and saving virtue!

V. If any further evidence be wanting to prove the significative and representative character of the several parts of the human body, it may be found in the following words properly understood, "Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins; thou hast caused man [a man] to ride over our heads; we went through fire and water; yet thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place, [the breadth.]" Ps. lxvi. 11, 12. For, separate from such a character, what are we to understand by affliction being laid on the loins, and by man [a man] riding over our heads? To comprehend then the sacred and edifying language of the ETERNAL WORD, it is again necessary to have recourse to the illustrative doctrine of correspondence, by the bright light of which alone we are enabled to unfold the wisdom involved in the Book of GOD, and promulgated by the instructive

symbols derived from corporeal mechanism. Again therefore we gladly consult the pages which contain the heavenly doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and where, to our unspeakable delight, we presently find the following luminous exposition of the above words of the Psalmist-" By those words is described spiritual captivity and liberation from it; spiritual captivity is the result of a closure [or shutting-up] of the mind against the perception of good and the intelligence of truth; and liberation is the result of an opening of the mind; by affliction in the loins is signified, that there is no perception of the good of love, for the loins and thighs signify the good of love; by causing man [a man] to ride over our heads is signified, that there is no understanding of truth, for by man is here signified intelligence derived from self-hood, which is no intelligence, and the like by head; in consequence of this signification it is added, We went through [into] fire and waters, into fire denoting into the evils which are of self-love, and into waters denoting into the falses thence derived: liberation thence is understood by, Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place [the breadth], breadth denoting truth, as above." [Ap. Ex. 355.] How now is our conviction strengthened, by this instructive exposition, respecting the significant meaning of the several parts of our own bodies, and respecting also the application of such meaning in the divine pages of the Eternal Truth! And how again is our gratitude excited towards the FATHER OF MERCIES for His merciful dispensation, of that new and heavenly doctrine, by virtue whereof we are enabled to unlock the GOLDEN CABINET, which contains the infinite stores of the gold and silver and precious stones of His own divine wisdom and intelligence!

VI. I shall beg leave to add one other illustrative passage from the Book of Psalms, in confirmation of what has been already advanced on the subject of the significant character of the human body, and then leave the numberless other passages to the examination of the reader. The passage which I am desirous to select is expressed in these words, in which the Psalmist speaks of the LORD under the name of David: "I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers." [Psalm lxxxix. 25.] How completely dark and unintelligible now are these words, if interpreted only according to their literal meaning! For, according to that meaning, what idea, either rational or edifying,