12. Remain but steadfast in my will, and then I will give you after this [lifetime] the kingdom of nature, according to its inward good ground, for possession and propriety; and I will perform and ratify my oath (viz. Jesus Christ, whom I promised you in your fall, and whom I introduced into Abraham's faith) unto you for ever; and I will, in the kingdom of nature, wherein you must in this time stand, work, labour, toil, and be in need and distress, even multiply your seed as the stars in heaven; and give your seed all the wrought powers and works to an eternal propriety, and through your seed all the nations of the earth shall he blessed (v. 4). That is :
13. Through your ens of faith (which in Christ, viz. in the aim and limit of the Covenant, shall be manifested in the kingdom of your nature and creatural property, and become man in you) all nations, viz. the whole Adamical tree shall be blessed; and therefore, because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, commandments, ways, and laws (v. 5). That is, Abraham has received my working word into his soul's desire, and obeyed my voice in its operation; which divine operation is the command, law, and form. Out of which operation also God showed Abraham, by the circumcision, the figure of the kingdom of Christ, that the same should cut off the sin and vanity; which figure God called his charge, law in the Covenant, and his statute.
14. The spirit of Moses does now proceed further in the relation of this figure, and signifies, under the outward history of King Abimelech, how that Abimelech's servants and Isaac's servants contended ahout the wells of water, and that Abraham's and Isaac's servants digged the wells of water, which wells were continually stopped up by the envy and enmity of the Philistines (vv. 18-21). By which figure the spirit secretly signifies how the children of the saints, viz. the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac, have always digged in their ens of faith for the wellspring of life in the Covenant, and have also obtained the knowledge of the Messiah.
15. But these wells were continually covered and obscured by the devil in God's anger, and by their earthly reason, until they apprehended and laid hold of the promise of the Messiah in faith. And then they said we have digged a well, and have found of the water of life: the same, Isaac called Shebah,l and therein hints at the Sabbath, Christ, as he also forthwith says, that thereupon the place was called Beer-sheba (vv. 32, 33), viz. a contrition, and breaking of the anger and envy of the devil in man's property; to signify that the Sabbath, Christ, viz. the spiritual wellspring, is truly called Beer-sheba, viz. a contrition of death, where the Sabbath introduces itself into death, and brings forth the fountain of life through death.
1 Text, Saba.
16. At which fountain the children of God's Covenant did pitch their tent, and waited upon the promise, until the same fountain was opened in the humanity, and flowed forth out of Christ's blood and death; of which the poor soul drank, and thereby was brought into the eternal Sabbath, where it was redeemed and freed from the strife of the Philistines, viz. from the contention of the anger of God and of the devil. As the history in this text does clearly signify thus much in the High Tongue; which the spirit of Moses has thus represented in the figure, and does play with the description of this figure.
17. As indeed the whole Old Testament is a figure of the New, and the New a figure of the future eternal world, wherein the figure shall stand in divine power, and the spirit of God shall in eternity play with his deeds of wonder; to which end also he has created man, and inspired 1 the power of his voice, viz. the living word, into him, that so he might be an image of the eternal Word, with which image the eternal spirit will play, and work wonders; that so there may be a joy and knowledge in the eternal wisdom.
12. Remain but steadfast in my will, and then I will give you after this [lifetime] the kingdom of nature, according to its inward good ground, for possession and propriety; and I will perform and ratify my oath (viz. Jesus Christ, whom I promised you in your fall, and whom I introduced into Abraham's faith) unto you for ever; and I will, in the kingdom of nature, wherein you must in this time stand, work, labour, toil, and be in need and distress, even multiply your seed as the stars in heaven; and give your seed all the wrought powers and works to an eternal propriety, and through your seed all the nations of the earth shall he blessed (v. 4). That is :
13. Through your ens of faith (which in Christ, viz. in the aim and limit of the Covenant, shall be manifested in the kingdom of your nature and creatural property, and become man in you) all nations, viz. the whole Adamical tree shall be blessed; and therefore, because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, commandments, ways, and laws (v. 5). That is, Abraham has received my working word into his soul's desire, and obeyed my voice in its operation; which divine operation is the command, law, and form. Out of which operation also God showed Abraham, by the circumcision, the figure of the kingdom of Christ, that the same should cut off the sin and vanity; which figure God called his charge, law in the Covenant, and his statute.
14. The spirit of Moses does now proceed further in the relation of this figure, and signifies, under the outward history of King Abimelech, how that Abimelech's servants and Isaac's servants contended ahout the wells of water, and that Abraham's and Isaac's servants digged the wells of water, which wells were continually stopped up by the envy and enmity of the Philistines (vv. 18-21). By which figure the spirit secretly signifies how the children of the saints, viz. the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac, have always digged in their ens of faith for the wellspring of life in the Covenant, and have also obtained the knowledge of the Messiah.
15. But these wells were continually covered and obscured by the devil in God's anger, and by their earthly reason, until they apprehended and laid hold of the promise of the Messiah in faith. And then they said we have digged a well, and have found of the water of life: the same, Isaac called Shebah,l and therein hints at the Sabbath, Christ, as he also forthwith says, that thereupon the place was called Beer-sheba (vv. 32, 33), viz. a contrition, and breaking of the anger and envy of the devil in man's property; to signify that the Sabbath, Christ, viz. the spiritual wellspring, is truly called Beer-sheba, viz. a contrition of death, where the Sabbath introduces itself into death, and brings forth the fountain of life through death.
1 Text, Saba.
16. At which fountain the children of God's Covenant did pitch their tent, and waited upon the promise, until the same fountain was opened in the humanity, and flowed forth out of Christ's blood and death; of which the poor soul drank, and thereby was brought into the eternal Sabbath, where it was redeemed and freed from the strife of the Philistines, viz. from the contention of the anger of God and of the devil. As the history in this text does clearly signify thus much in the High Tongue; which the spirit of Moses has thus represented in the figure, and does play with the description of this figure.
17. As indeed the whole Old Testament is a figure of the New, and the New a figure of the future eternal world, wherein the figure shall stand in divine power, and the spirit of God shall in eternity play with his deeds of wonder; to which end also he has created man, and inspired 1 the power of his voice, viz. the living word, into him, that so he might be an image of the eternal Word, with which image the eternal spirit will play, and work wonders; that so there may be a joy and knowledge in the eternal wisdom.
No commentary for this page.
There is commentary on page 1.