Page:The Swedenborg Library Vol 1.djvu/138

 body is nothing else but the man's affection in a human form, such as he also appears in after death. So long as these truths are unknown, man may be induced to believe that salvation is nothing but the good pleasure of the Lord, which is called mercy and grace.

But it shall first be declared what the divine mercy is. Divine mercy is the pure mercy of the Lord, which seeks the salvation of the whole human race; and it is likewise continual with every man, and in no case recedes from any one, so that every one is saved who can be saved.

But no one can be saved except by divine means, which are revealed by the Lord in the Word. Divine means are what are called divine truths. These teach how man must live in order that he may be saved. By means of these truths the Lord leads man to heaven and implants within him the life of heaven. This the Lord does with all. But the life of heaven cannot be implanted in any one unless he abstains from evil, for evil opposes. So far therefore as man abstains from evil, the Lord out of pure mercy leads him by His divine means from infancy to the end of his life in the world, and afterwards to eternity. This is the Divine mercy which is meant.

Hence it is evident that the mercy of the Lord is