Page:A Compendium of the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.djvu/276

180 consist essentially in this, but in a life of uses. This is worship according to the order of heaven. The worship of the lips also is worship, but it is entirely without avail unless there be worship of the life; for this worship is of the heart, and that, in order that it may become worship, must proceed from this. (ib. n. 7884.)

The man who is in the course of purification from evils and falsities, and in good and truth, is in genuine worship. For purification from evils and falsities consists in desisting from them, and in shunning them and holding them in aversion; and the implantation of good and truth consists in thinking and purposing what is good and true and speaking and doing them. And the conjunction of the two is life from them; for when good and truth are conjoined in a man he has a new will and a new understanding, and therefore new life. When a man becomes of such a character, in every work that he does there is Divine worship; for he then looks to the Divine [Being] in everything, venerates Him, loves Him, and accordingly worships Him. This is genuine Divine worship, (ib. n. 10,143.)

It is believed by those who do not know the mysteries of heaven that worship is from man, because it goes forth from the thought and from the affection that are in him. But the worship which is from man is not worship, consequently the confessions, adorations, and prayers which are from man are not confessions, adorations, and prayers which are heard and received by the Lord, But they must be from the Lord Himself in man. The church knows that this is so; for she teaches that no good proceeds from man, but that all good is from heaven, that is from the Divine there. Therefore all good is worship also, and worship without good is not worship. The Church, accordingly, when she is in a holy [state], prays that God may be present and lead their thoughts and discourse. The case is this: When man is in genuine worship the Lord flows into the goods and truths that are in him, and He raises them up to Him, and with them raises the man according to the degree and manner that he is in them. This elevation does not appear to a man unless he is in the genuine affection of truth and good, and in the knowledge, acknowledgment, and faith that all good comes from above, from the Lord. That this is so may be apprehended even by those who are wise from the world; for they know from their erudition that there is not natural influx, which is called by them physical influx, but spiritual influx; that is, that nothing can flow in from the natural world into heaven, but the reverse. From these considerations it may appear how it is to be understood that the influx and operation of the Divine of the Lord is into all and everything of worship. That in truth it is so it has been granted me frequently