22. But that Abraham says he gave it to the young man to dress, that is, [to] the servant, does betoken that this heavenly beast-man is the instrument of the angelical man, who is prepared to be a servant of this angel's image.
23. And Abraham took butter, and milk also, and set it all before these three men, and came before them under the tree, and they did eat. When Christ has fed his people with his body and blood (and even while he feeds them) he comes in his power in his children, before the holy Trinity, and waits in his children upon these three men, and gives them from this prepared food, wherewith he feeds his children, praise and spiritual food.
24. These three men, viz. the holy Trinity, do eat these holy spiritual meats, out of the power of Christ's body; for man's will gives itself wholly, peculiarly and fully, to these three men, for a food of praise, with a holy voice and prayer of thanksgiving; and this voice of praise eats the power of God into itself in manner as a man willingly eats the tune, harmony or pleasant air of a delightful music into his hearing, and is therein merry and pleasant. Even so God does awaken or manifest himself in his power in his word of hearing, or divine sense, with man's pure humble voice or melody of praise.
25. For thereunto God has created angels and men, viz. to his own joy. And know, that we speak from the true ground, and not from conjecture or similitudes [or parables], but from the open seal of God, as we really see: do but understand it aright.
26. And now, when God had delighted and fed himself with Abraham in the heavenly ens, which he would, by the opening of the living Word in the seed of the woman (being also the heavenly ens), manifest and introduce into the ens of the Covenant; and had sported in the ens of Abraham's faith, viz. in the power of the praise of Abraham, viz. in his humility; then God asked after Sarah, whom he well knew, but Sarah knew him not; that even the Lord should be in such a form; then he said to Abraham, Where is your wife Sarah? That is, she was not yet in this play, until she had received Abraham's ens of faith, and then this play would awaken itself in her; therefore she laughed at this; for she knew not the Mysteries; they did at present only manifest themselves in Abraham's spirit, where the ens of faith lay; and he said, She is in the tent; that is :
27. She is in the human tent covered with the earthly tent, that she does not see who now is with me. And the Lord said, I will come again to you, as I live, and lo! Sarah your wife shall have a son. That is, I will come again to you with the motion of your seed: and when Sarah shall conceive, then I will open and unloose her in her shut-up seed, and come into your seed, that is, move; for, to come, signifies to move: when God comes, then he moves man, and comes or goes in and with man.
28. But that he says, As I live, this is spoken after an essential manner; for God told him how he would come; not before him, as at this time he did; but as, that is, as the lightful influence and power of the sun gives itself into a fruit, which when it comes does not step near to the fruit, but as; that is, it penetrates essentially with the as into it; for as is, as much as, thus / will see into it [or open my love-aspect in the ens of its life]. As I live. Hereby we are not to understand, as if he had said, If I yet live, but he would live in the as; he would come in the as, viz. essentially, and not figuratively and typically [as at this time he did] .
29. For when God comes, then he comes no otherwise, than as, that is, like the sunshine into the fruit. This is understood in the Language of Nature, essentially, with emphatical excellency; for if God speaks of his own coming, then he speaks only essentially, in nature and manner of the uncompacted tongue of sense.
30. And Sarah laughed at this. She thought that she should bring forth a son from Abraham's lust only, from the human cohabitation in the concupiscence of the flesh; therefore she said. Shall I, now I and my Lord are both old, take pleasure? The bestial world-spirit laughed at its youth, in that it was now weak; and should now again become youthful; and thought with itself, This were a sport, if you could.
22. But that Abraham says he gave it to the young man to dress, that is, [to] the servant, does betoken that this heavenly beast-man is the instrument of the angelical man, who is prepared to be a servant of this angel's image.
23. And Abraham took butter, and milk also, and set it all before these three men, and came before them under the tree, and they did eat. When Christ has fed his people with his body and blood (and even while he feeds them) he comes in his power in his children, before the holy Trinity, and waits in his children upon these three men, and gives them from this prepared food, wherewith he feeds his children, praise and spiritual food.
24. These three men, viz. the holy Trinity, do eat these holy spiritual meats, out of the power of Christ's body; for man's will gives itself wholly, peculiarly and fully, to these three men, for a food of praise, with a holy voice and prayer of thanksgiving; and this voice of praise eats the power of God into itself in manner as a man willingly eats the tune, harmony or pleasant air of a delightful music into his hearing, and is therein merry and pleasant. Even so God does awaken or manifest himself in his power in his word of hearing, or divine sense, with man's pure humble voice or melody of praise.
25. For thereunto God has created angels and men, viz. to his own joy. And know, that we speak from the true ground, and not from conjecture or similitudes [or parables], but from the open seal of God, as we really see: do but understand it aright.
26. And now, when God had delighted and fed himself with Abraham in the heavenly ens, which he would, by the opening of the living Word in the seed of the woman (being also the heavenly ens), manifest and introduce into the ens of the Covenant; and had sported in the ens of Abraham's faith, viz. in the power of the praise of Abraham, viz. in his humility; then God asked after Sarah, whom he well knew, but Sarah knew him not; that even the Lord should be in such a form; then he said to Abraham, Where is your wife Sarah? That is, she was not yet in this play, until she had received Abraham's ens of faith, and then this play would awaken itself in her; therefore she laughed at this; for she knew not the Mysteries; they did at present only manifest themselves in Abraham's spirit, where the ens of faith lay; and he said, She is in the tent; that is :
27. She is in the human tent covered with the earthly tent, that she does not see who now is with me. And the Lord said, I will come again to you, as I live, and lo! Sarah your wife shall have a son. That is, I will come again to you with the motion of your seed: and when Sarah shall conceive, then I will open and unloose her in her shut-up seed, and come into your seed, that is, move; for, to come, signifies to move: when God comes, then he moves man, and comes or goes in and with man.
28. But that he says, As I live, this is spoken after an essential manner; for God told him how he would come; not before him, as at this time he did; but as, that is, as the lightful influence and power of the sun gives itself into a fruit, which when it comes does not step near to the fruit, but as; that is, it penetrates essentially with the as into it; for as is, as much as, thus / will see into it [or open my love-aspect in the ens of its life]. As I live. Hereby we are not to understand, as if he had said, If I yet live, but he would live in the as; he would come in the as, viz. essentially, and not figuratively and typically [as at this time he did] .
29. For when God comes, then he comes no otherwise, than as, that is, like the sunshine into the fruit. This is understood in the Language of Nature, essentially, with emphatical excellency; for if God speaks of his own coming, then he speaks only essentially, in nature and manner of the uncompacted tongue of sense.
30. And Sarah laughed at this. She thought that she should bring forth a son from Abraham's lust only, from the human cohabitation in the concupiscence of the flesh; therefore she said. Shall I, now I and my Lord are both old, take pleasure? The bestial world-spirit laughed at its youth, in that it was now weak; and should now again become youthful; and thought with itself, This were a sport, if you could.
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