thus that life might be restored, and acknowledgment given of all things of love and faith from the Lord whereby He may be worshipped-and move his hand over the place-by an immediate act of power from truth-and take away the leper—and thus remove the evils of falsification.

Ver. 12. Are not Amana and Parphar, rivers of Damascus— that introductory knowledges of scientific or natural truths and goods* concordant with the introductory knowledges of the spiritual truths and goods of the church-better than all the waters of Israel-are held in higher estimation by those who are in the externals of the church and still in evils of life, than spiritual introductory knowledges from the internal sense of the Wordmay I not wash in them and be clean—that purification of the external man, it is supposed, might be effected by them-so he turned, and went away in a rage-that from aversion to spiritual truths and goods they avert themselves, or the natural principle averts itself, from the Lord as divine truth.

Ver. 13. And his servants came near-animadversion to external truths of the Word-and spake unto him and said—thought thence and perception-My father-and intercession from good[if] the prophet had spoken to thee some great word—that if the Word had taught that good is to be done rather than evil to be removed-wouldst thou not have done [it]—it would have been more in agreement with the natural principle in evils, although of no avail-how much more then, when he saith to thee-but divine order requires, and so the Word plainly dictates-Wash and be clean-that the natural mind is to be purified by abstaining from evils as sins and looking to the Lord, and thus man is to be reformed and regenerated.

Ver. 14. Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan-plenary application to introductory knowledges of truths and goods derived from the Word, and amendment of life thence, whereby the natural principle becomes purified from the Lord-according to the word of the man of God—which the Word, as Divine Truth from the Lord, plainly dictates—and his flesh was restored like as the flesh of a little boy, and he was clean

* By introductory knowledges of scientific or natural truths and goods are understood truths and goods moral and civil, but not spiritual, and which are not introductory to the church.

whereby also good is given, in which is spiritual innocence, and of consequence purity,

Ver. 15. And he returned to the man of God-reflection in the natural from the spiritual, or from the Divine Truth of the Word--he and all his company-that the natural principle together with all its goods and truths are acknowledged to be from the Lord—and came and stood before him, and said—confirmation from the Word in this acknowledgment, and thence confession-→ Behold, I pray, now I know, that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel-that the Lord, as manifested in the internal sense of the Word, is the only and true God of the Church-Now therefore, take, I pray [thee], a blessing of thy servant—that the natural man from truth seeks to conjoin itself to the Lord, which is contrary to order, because the Lord conjoins man to himself by good.

Ver. 16. But he said-a successive state of influx and perception thence-As Jehovah liveth before whom I stand—confirmation from Divine Verity, that the Lord is Essential Good—if I should receive-that conjunction with the Lord by truth cannot take place and he urged him to take-notwithstanding it is so perceived, the natural man is still urgent to conjoin itself by truth -but he refused-nevertheless such conjunction cannot take place.

Ver. 17. And Naaman said—Influx and thence thought in the natural principle-shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burthen of earth?—that the truth and good of the rational principle will be given from the Lord-for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto Jehovah-in order that the Lord only may be worshipped from the good of love and the truths of faith thence derived, and all worship grounded in falses be rejected. Ver. 18. As to this word let Jehovah be propitious to thy servant-Imploration of the Divine Good of the Divine Truth for mercy-that when my lord goeth in to the house of Rimmon to bow himself there-that in states when the proprium of the natural mind prevails, from the ascendency of the loves of self and the world, and he leaneth on my hand-and with power in ultimates not to be resisted-and 1 bow myself in the house of Rimmon-submission involuntary thereto from concupiscence hereditary or actual-when I bow myself in the house of

Rimmon-the effect of such ascendency-Let, I pray, Jehovah be favourable unto thy servant as to this word [this petition]that the natural principle in these involuntary submissions, may be preserved by the Lord and not perish.

Ver. 19. Therefore he said unto him-Influx from the divine love, and thence perception from the Lord-Go in peace-the divine assent; that the natural principle as to the new will and understanding, will be protected from the Lord, in all prevailing but involuntary states of the proprium, and this of divine mercy, in like manner as in heaven. To this state of protection, in reference to the spiritual, the Lord alludes in John ch. x. ver. 28, where he says, "None shall pluck them out of my hand." The succeeding verse 29 relates to the celestial-But when he had departed from him a little way [a mile of ground]-somewhat of removal from the Lord, in consequence of such states.

Ver. 20. Gehazi, the boy [or lad] of Elisha the man of God, said-concerning the incipient love of self-intelligence, or concerning those who are in that incipient love grounded in the loves of self and the world: their thought and conclusion thence— Behold my Lord hath spared Naaman this Syrian-that those who are of the church and are in the knowledges of truth and good are not allowed to conjoin themselves to the Lord by truth separate from good-in not receiving from his hand that which he brought-nor by any acquisitions of truth and good made under the influence and power of the natural man separate from the spiritual-But as Jehovah liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him-Confirmation from truth and ardour of the intellect grounded in self-intelligence to acquire truths from other sources than from the Lord.

Ver. 21. So Gehazi followed after Naaman-that self-intelligence, or such as are in the pride of self-intelligence, see and acknowledge that those who are of the Church are gifted with spiritual acquisitions of good and truth-and when Naaman saw him running after him-that those who are of the church, and in the life or in the good of truth, perceive the ardour of selfintelligence to procure for itself spiritual acquisitions-he alighted from above [or descended down from] the chariot to meet him— accommodation and application and thence influx of the most external things of doctrine to this state-and said, Whether is it peace?-inquisition, whether there is conjunction of good with

truth.

Ver. 22. And he said, There is peace-apparent conjunction of good with truth, but from the principle of deceit within, no conjunction-My Lord hath sent me, saying—apparent influx from the Lord, but in reality from the ardour of self-acquirement, and thence communication with the church, or with doctrinal truths, from deceit-Behold, even now, there be come to me two boys from mount Ephraim, of the sons of the prophets-conceit grounded in falses, that they are intellectually in the truth and good of the church, and can teach from the Word, which nevertheless, from the loves of self and the world, they actually pervert and falsify --give them, I pray [thee], a talent of silver and two changes of garment that their intelligence in truth and good merits an acknowledgment from the church, that they are in the spiritual reception of truth, and in the natural reception of truth and good.

23. To whom Naaman said-Influx externally, or the external sense of the Word dictates to them-Be content, take two talents —that truth intellectual ought to be conjoined with good corresponding-And he urged him-exhortation or entreaty, and that the necessity for this conjunction is manifest in the Word-and he bound two talents of silver in two bags-that truths and good spiritual are thence indeed given and received, but by such are stored up in the memory only, together with and amongst scientific or natural truths and goods, denoted by, and two changes of garments—And he laid them upon his two boys [duos pueros], and they bore [them] before him-hence the natural understanding of truth and good is made subservient to scientific things of the memory, in order that the pride of self-intelligence and its deceitful purposes may be thereby promoted, and this under the appearance of spiritual innocence.

24. And when he came to Ophel[or to the Tower, or to the secret place, or to darkness]-accession and communication with his interior principle of deceit-he took [them] from their handtruths and goods thus externally acquired are withdrawn from the power and exercises of the natural mind-and placed [them] in the house-and are secreted and immersed in the voluntary principle of the proprium, or in the evils of the will-and he, sent away the men [viri], who departed-and intellectual truths and goods being no longer regarded, are dismissed from the natural rational mind as things of no estimation or account.

Ver. 25. Presently after he came, and stood before his lord

Influx certain from the Divine Truth of the Word, disclosing the life of the intention of the will of such, or of those who are in the life of deceit And Elisha said to him-Influx from the Divine Truth of the Word for inquisition, preceding judgmentWhence [comest thou] Gehazi-exploration- Thy servant went not any whither-denial of truth from the evil of the false.

V. 26. And he said unto him—admonition-Went not mine heart [with thee]-that the Divine Good of Divine Truth, which is the Divine Life with man, is continually present to keep man from the commission of deadly evils, so far as is possible consistent with order—when the man [vir] turned again from his chariot to meet thee 2-together with and by virtue of doctrine derived from the Word, and especially to keep man from direful practices of deceit-Is it a time to receive silver and to receive garments, and oliveyards and vineyards, and flocks and herds, men servants and maid servants?—That neither natural truths interior or exterior, nor celestial and spiritual goods and truths, nor the affections of good and truth internal or external, nor any subservient truths and goods, can possibly be received and acknowledged by man, until evils are abstained from as sins and ejected from the will, especially the evil of deceit grounded in the loves of self and the world, which more than other evils adulterates, falsifies, profanes, and utterly annihilates all good and truth of every quality and degree, and finally rejecting them, man as to will and understanding, or intention and purpose, is devastated thereby and perishes.

Ver. 27. Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to thee and thy seed for ever— -that the falsification of truth with the external becomes profanation with the internal, or with those who first acknowledge truth, and then lead an evil life from purpose and intention, and that such profanation cannot then be healed, because the truths of heaven and the falses of hell are coherent, in their minds and cannot be plucked asunder-And he departed from before him a leper [white] as snow-That such falsification and profanation of divine truth rejects the Lord, and becomes more and more confirmed by subsequent acts of life. This profanation is understood by the great transgression and the sin against the Holy Spirit in Psalm xix. 13, and Matthew xii. 31, 32. see Arc. Cal. n. 9264.

Lausanne en Suisse.