637# “穿着麻布”表示由于不接受神性良善和神性真理而处在哀悼中。这从“穿着麻布”的含义清楚可知，“穿着麻布”是指由于神性良善和神性真理的荒废和荒凉，在此由于不接受它们而哀悼；因为见证人被看到穿着麻布，见证人表示神性良善和神性真理，一切爱与仁之良善都来自神性良善，一切教义与信仰之真理都来自神性真理；当这些不被接受时，它们看上去处于哀悼，但当它们被接受时，就处于喜乐。
同样，经上论到也表示爱之良善和信之真理的太阳和月亮说：
日头变黑像毛布，月亮变得像血。(启示录6:12)
这句话表示一切爱之良善都被分离，一切信之真理都被歪曲(参看AE 401节)；倒不是说天使天堂中的太阳，也就是主，曾变黑，而是说，它向那些不接受来自它的光之人如此显现。
在古代，教会的外在是由纯粹的对应和随之属灵事物的代表构成的，各种具有意义的行为代表哀悼；如坐在地上，躺在地上，在尘土中打滚，把灰撒在头上，撕裂衣服，穿麻布。“撕裂衣服和穿麻布”表示由于教会的真理和良善的荒凉，还由于对它们的不接受而哀悼；因为“衣服”一般表示教会的真理(参看AE 64, 65, 195, 271, 395, 475a, 476节)；因此，“撕裂衣服”表示悲伤，因为教会的真理被伤害，可以说被虚假撕裂；“穿着麻布”表示由于良善和真理的剥夺，以及随之而来的教会的荒废而哀悼。
因此：
当希西家王听见亚述王的军长他珥探的话时，就撕裂衣服，披上麻布，进了耶和华的家；他派管这家的以利亚敬、书记舍伯那和祭司中的长老披上麻布，到以赛亚那里。(列王纪下19:1, 2; 以赛亚书37:1, 2)
这样做是因为，“亚述王”在此表示被败坏的理性层，或利用虚假败坏并摧毁教会的真理和良善的理性层；亚述王的军长他珥探的所有话都涉及这些事；由于教会的荒凉和荒废看上去即将发生，所以为证明由此导致的哀悼和悲伤，他们撕裂衣服，披上麻布。
同样：
当亚兰王便哈达围困撒玛利亚，那里来了一场大饥荒时，王就撕裂衣服，当他从城墙上经过时，百姓看见了，看哪，他贴着肉体穿在里面的是麻衣。(列王纪下6:30)
这些话与前面具有相同的含义，即表示即将发生的教会的荒凉和毁坏；因此，王撕裂衣服，贴着肉体穿着麻布，这些是哀悼和悲伤的代表性标志。
以下经文也表示出于同样的原因而哀悼：
当雅各以为约瑟被撕碎了时，他便撕裂衣服，腰间围上麻布，为他儿子哀悼了多日。(创世记37:34)
所以，当亚哈因他妻子耶洗别的耸动，夺走拿伯的葡萄园，听见先知对这件事所说严厉的话时，他就撕裂衣服，将麻布披在肉体上，禁食，躺卧在麻布上，并且缓缓而行(列王纪上21:27)。当尼尼微王听见约拿的话时，他就从宝座起来，脱下朝服，披上麻布，坐在灰中，宣布禁食，人与牲畜都当披上麻布(约拿书3:5, 6, 8)。但以理也面向主神，禁食，披麻蒙灰，恳切祷告祈求(但以理书9:3)。当押尼珥被杀时，大卫对约押和跟随他的众人说，他们当撕裂衣服，腰束麻布，在押尼珥面前哀哭；大卫自己也跟在棺后(撒母耳记下3:31)。这清楚表明，在犹太和以色列教会，哀悼或哀哭由“撕裂衣服，穿上麻布”来代表；这是因为那时，心智的悲伤和内心的悲哀，也就是内层事物，由外在事物来代表，这些外在事物因它们与属灵事物的对应关系而具有意义。
637b.麻布所代表的哀悼尤指因教会中真理的荒凉和良善的荒废而导致的哀悼，也特指悔改，然后因邪恶导致的内心悲哀，这一点可从以下经文进一步明显看出来。以赛亚书：
当那日，主万军之耶和华叫人哭泣哀号，头上光秃，身披麻布。(以赛亚书22:12)
这一章论述的主题是教会在神性真理方面的荒废；“光秃”和“身披麻布”描述了因它而哀悼。
耶利米书：
有狮子从密林中上来，毁坏列族的已经动身；他出离本处，要使地荒废；你的城邑必毁灭，无人居住；因此，你们当腰束麻布，悲恸哀号。(耶利米书4:7, 8)
“从密林中上来的狮子”表示摧毁教会真理的邪恶之虚假；“毁坏列族的”表示摧毁教会良善的虚假之邪恶；他们使之荒废的“地”表示教会，毁灭的“城邑”表示教义的真理；“腰束麻布”表示由此的哀悼，故经上补充说“悲恸哀号”。
同一先知书：
我百姓的女儿啊，应当腰束麻布，滚在灰中；你要举行哀悼，如丧独生子一样，苦苦地号啕一顿，因为荒废者要忽然临到我们。(耶利米书6:26)
“百姓的女儿”表示教会；“腰束麻布，滚在灰中”表示由于教会的良善和真理的毁灭而哀悼；“荒废者要忽然临到”表示这些的毁灭或教会的荒废。显然，“腰束麻布，滚在灰中”表示由于良善和真理的毁灭而大大哀悼和悲伤，因为经上补充说：“你要举行哀悼，如丧独生子一样，苦苦地号啕一顿。”
又：
希实本哪，你要哀号，因为艾城已被毁灭；拉巴的女儿啊，你们要呼喊，要腰束麻布，要哀哭，要在城墙内跑来跑去，因为他们的王，他的祭司和首领都必一同流亡。(耶利米书49:3)
这些话论及亚扪人，他们表示那些处于属世良善，歪曲教会真理的人；教会中那些具有这种特征的人由“拉巴的女儿”来描述；“要腰束麻布，要哀哭，要在城墙内跑来跑去”表示由于真理因歪曲而毁灭导致的哀悼，“城墙”表示被歪曲的真理；“他们的王流亡”表示教会的真理因此而灭亡，“王”表示教会的真理，“流亡”表示被毁灭。“祭司和首领一同”表示教会的良善和由此而来的一切真理同样灭亡，“祭司”表示教会的良善，“首领”表示由此而来的真理。
耶利米哀歌：
锡安女子的长老都坐在地上，默默无声；他们把尘灰撒在头上，腰束麻布；耶路撒冷的处女都垂头至地。(耶利米哀歌2:10)
“坐在地上”、“默默无声”、“把尘灰撒在头上”、“垂头至地”都是由于教会因邪恶和虚假而荒废导致的哀悼和悲伤的代表性标志。“锡安女子的长老”表示教会中那些有智慧和聪明的人，在抽象意义上表示智慧和聪明；“锡安女子”和“耶路撒冷的处女”表示教会中那些处于对良善和真理的情感之人，在抽象意义上表示这些情感本身。
以西结书：
船长必为你使自己秃头，用麻布束腰，为你以灵魂的苦涩哭泣，苦苦悲哀。(以西结书27:31)
这些话论及推罗，推罗表示真理和良善的知识方面的教会，因此也表示属于教会的真理和良善的知识；此处描述了由于这些的毁灭而哀悼。“船长”表示所有带来并交流这些知识的人；“使秃头”表示由于聪明的一切事物的毁灭而哀悼；“用麻布束腰”表示因认识真理的能力也被毁而哀悼。由于所描述的是哀悼，所以经上补充说：“他们必为你以灵魂的苦涩哭泣，苦苦悲哀”
福音书：
哥拉汛哪，你有祸了！伯赛大啊，你有祸了！因为在你们中间所行的异能若行在推罗、西顿，他们早已披麻蒙灰悔改了。(马太福音11:21; 路加福音10:13)
“披麻蒙灰悔改”表示由于对神性真理的不接受，以及反对或阻碍的虚假和邪恶而悲伤和哀悼。
约珥书：
你当哀号，像处女腰束麻布，为年少时的新郎哀号；祭司啊，你们当腰束麻布痛哭；事奉祭坛的啊，你们要哀号；事奉我神的啊，你们要来披上麻布过夜；因为素祭和奠祭从你们神的家中断绝了。(约珥书1:8, 13)
此处“腰束麻布”和“披上麻布过夜”表示因教会的良善和真理毁灭而哀悼，因为“素祭”表示教会的良善，“奠祭”表示教会的真理。
阿摩司书：
我必所有腰都束上麻布，使光秃临到各头，我必使它像为独生子哀悼，其末了终如苦苦的一天。(阿摩司书8:10)
“腰束上麻布”表示因爱之良善毁灭而哀悼，因为“腰”表示这良善；“使光秃临到各头”表示因对真理的理解毁灭而哀悼。
以赛亚书：
光秃临到摩押人所有的头上，各胡须都剃净；他们在街上都腰束麻布；他必在房顶上，在街道上哀号，流泪哭泣。(以赛亚书15:2, 3)
耶利米书：
各头都光秃，各胡须都剃净；所有的手都有划伤，腰束麻布；在摩押所有的房顶上和街道上处处有哀声。(耶利米书48:37, 38)
“摩押”表示那些处于属世良善，玷污教会良善的人；“光秃临到摩押人所有的头上，各胡须都剃净”、“他必在房顶上，在街道上哀号”、“有哀声”表示他们没有对真理的理解，也没有真理的知识；“所有的手都有划伤”表示被歪曲的事物；“腰束麻布”、以及“哀号，流泪哭泣”表示由于这些事物而哀悼。
以赛亚书：
必有腐烂代替香料，绳子代替腰带，光秃代替美发，麻衣系腰代替华服，烙伤代替美貌；你的男丁必倒在剑下，你的壮士必倒在战场上。(以赛亚书3:24, 25)
这些话论及“锡安女子”，“锡安女子”表示对属天良善的情感方面的教会，所以“锡安女子”表示属于属天教会的对良善的情感。此处以这些女子用来妆饰自己的各种事物描述了因自我聪明的骄傲，这些的丧失和消散；“必有腐烂代替香料，绳子代替腰带，光秃代替美发，麻衣系腰代替华服，烙伤代替美貌”表示这些情感变成相反和不美好的情感；“腐烂”表示致命的灭亡；“绳子代替腰带”表示对真理的感知的消散代替它们的结合；“光秃代替美发”表示愚痴代替知识；“烙伤代替美貌”表示愚蠢代替聪明，“烙伤”表示由自我聪明的骄傲产生的疯狂，也就是愚蠢，“美貌”表示聪明。“你的男丁必倒在剑下，你的壮士必倒在战场上”表示理解力的真理将因虚假而灭亡，甚至直到没有对邪恶的抵抗力，“剑”表示摧毁真理的虚假。
在以下经文中，“麻布”具有相同含义。如以西结书：
所有的手都发软，所有的膝盖都没入水中，他们必因此腰束麻布，战兢把他们遮盖，所有脸上满是羞愧，所有头上都光秃。(以西结书7:17, 18)
诗篇：
他们有病的时候，我拿麻布当衣裳，用饥饿苦待我的灵魂。(诗篇35:13)
又：
我以灵魂的禁食哭泣时，这倒成了我的羞辱；我拿麻布当衣裳时，却成了他们的笑柄。(诗篇69:10, 11)
约伯记：
我缝麻布在我皮肤上，把我的角放在尘土中；我的脸因哭泣而脏污。(约伯记16:15, 16)
以赛亚书：
我使诸天以黑暗为衣，以麻布为遮盖。(以赛亚书50:3)
诗篇：
你已将我的哀悼变为跳舞，将我的麻衣脱去，给我束上喜乐。(诗篇30:11)
在这些经文中，“麻布”表示哀悼；给身体披上麻布而不是衣裳表示由于教会真理的毁灭而哀悼；把麻布束在腰上、披在肉体上表示由于教会良善的毁灭而哀悼；因为“衣裳”表示教会的真理，“腰和肉体”表示教会的良善。
用麻布束腰只是代表、因而表示哀悼和悔改，本身并不是哀悼和悔改，这一点在以赛亚书是很明显的：
这岂是我所拣选的禁食，为人所用以苦待自己的灵魂，叫人垂头像苇子，躺在麻布和灰中的日子吗？难道你要把这称为禁食，为耶和华美意的日子吗？我所拣选的禁食，不是要松开凶恶的束缚，把你的饼分给饥饿的人，将受痛苦的流亡者接到家中，见赤身的就遮盖他吗？(以赛亚书58:5–7)
约珥书：
你应当禁食、哭泣、悲哀，全心归向我，应撕裂的，是你们的心，而不是你们的衣服。(约珥书2:12, 13)
637. Clothed in sackcloth.- That this signifies in mourning because of the non-reception of Divine Good and Divine Truth, is evident from the signification of being clothed with sackcloth, as denoting mourning because of the vastation and desolation of Divine Good and Divine Truth, in this case, because they are not received. For the witnesses were seen clothed in sackcloth, and by the witnesses are signified the Divine Good, which is the source of all the good of love and of charity, and the Divine Truth, which is the source of all the truth of doctrine and of faith, and these appear in mourning when not received, but in joy when received.
[2] Similar expressions are used concerning the sun and the moon, which also signify the good of love and the truth of faith, as that
"The sun became black as a sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood" (401). Not that the Sun in the angelic heaven, which is the Lord, ever becomes black, but that it appears to do so to those who do not receive any light from it.
[3] In ancient times, when the externals of the church consisted of pure correspondences, and thence representatives of spiritual things, mourning was represented by various significative actions; as sitting and lying on the ground, rolling themselves in the dust, putting ashes on the head, rending the garments, and putting on sackcloth. Rending the garments and putting on sackcloth signified mourning on account of the desolation of truth and good in the church, and on account of their non-reception. For garments in general signified the truths of the church, as may be seen above (n. 64, 65, 195, 271, 395, 475:1, 476), and therefore the rending of the garments signified grief on account of injury to the truths of the church, and because they were rent asunder, as it were, by falsities. The putting on of sackcloth signified mourning on account of the deprivation of good and truth, and the consequent vastation of the church;
[4] therefore when Hezekiah the king heard the words of Tartan, the captain of the king of Assyria,
"He rent his garments, and covered himself with sackcloth, and came to the house of Jehovah; and he sent Eliakim who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah" (2 Kings 19:1, 2; Isaiah 37:1, 2).
This was done because the king of Assyria signifies there the perverted Rational, or the Rational which perverts the truths and goods of the church and destroys them by falsities, all the words of Tartan, the captain of the king of Assyria, involving such things. And because the desolation and vastation of the church was seen to be so imminent, therefore, in order to testify mourning and grief on account of it, they rent their garments and covered themselves with sackcloth.
[5] Similarly when Benhadad the king of Assyria besieged Samaria, and there came a great famine, "the king rent his garments, and as he passed by upon the wall, the people saw, that behold sackcloth was upon his flesh within" (2 Kings 6:30). The signification is the same here as above, namely, imminent desolation and devastation of the church, therefore the king rent his garments, and had sackcloth upon his flesh, these being representative signs of mourning and grief.
[6] Mourning, for similar reasons, is also signified by what is written in other places. As for example, Jacob, when he believed that Joseph was torn to pieces, rent his garments, put sackcloth upon his loins, and, mourned over his son many days (Genesis 37:34). Ahab, after he had taken away the vineyard of Naboth, by the advice of Jezebel his wife, and heard the severe words of the prophet concerning that matter, rent his garments, placed sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly (1 Kings 21:27). Again, the king of Nineveh, after he had heard the words of Jonah, rose up from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth, sat upon ashes, and proclaimed a fast, and that man and beast should be covered with sackcloth (Jonah 3:5, 6, 8). Also, Daniel set his face to the Lord God, to seek by supplication and prayer, in fasting, in sackcloth and ashes (Dan. 9:3). And after Abner was slain, David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, that they should rend their garments and cover themselves with sackcloth, and lament before Abner; and David himself walked behind the bier (2 Sam. 3:31). From these passages it is evident that in the Jewish and Israelitish church mourning was represented by the rending of the garments and the putting on of sackcloth; and for the reason that grief of mind and mourning of heart, being interior, were at that time represented by external things, which were significative on account of their correspondence with spiritual things.
[7] That the representation of mourning by sackcloth especially signified mourning on account of the desolation of truth and the vastation of good in the church, and also, in particular, repentance, and then mourning of heart on account of evils, is further evident from the following passages.
In Isaiah:
"The Lord Jehovih Zebaoth shall call in that day to weeping and to wailing and to baldness, and to the putting on of sackcloth" (22:12).
The subject treated of in that chapter is the vastation of the church as to Divine Truth, and mourning on account of it is described by baldness and the putting on of sackcloth.
[8] In Jeremiah:
"The lion is gone up out of the thicket, and the destroyer of the nations is on his way, he hath gone forth out of his place to reduce the land to wasteness; thy cities shall be destroyed, that there shall be no inhabitant, for this gird ye with sackcloth, wail, howl" (4:7, 8).
The lion out of the thicket signifies the falsity of evil destroying the truths of the church, and the destroyer of the nations signifies the evil of falsity destroying the good of the church; the land which they shall reduce to wasteness signifies the church, and by the cities which shall be destroyed are signified the truths of doctrine. By girding with sackcloth is signified mourning on account thereof, and therefore it is also added, wail and bowl.
[9] In the same:
"O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and roll thee in ashes; make to thee the mourning of an only son, a wailing of bitterness, for the vastator will come suddenly upon us" (6:26).
By the daughter of my people is meant the church; by girding herself with sackcloth and rolling herself in ashes is signified mourning on account of the destruction of the good and truth of the church; the destruction of these, or the vastation of the church, is meant by the vastator coming suddenly. That great mourning and grief on account of the destruction of the good and truth of the church is signified by girding with sackcloth and rolling in ashes, is evident, for it is added, "make to thee the mourning of an only son, a wailing of bitterness."
[10] Again:
"Howl, O Heshbon, because Ai is devastated; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah; gird ye with sackcloth, wail, and wander among the fences; because their king is gone into exile, his priests and princes together" (Jeremiah 49:3).
These things are said concerning the sons of Ammon, who signify those who are in natural good and falsify the truths of the church. Those in the church who are of such a character are described by "the daughters of Rabbah." Gird ye with sackcloth, wail, wander amongst the fences, signifies mourning on account of the destruction of truth by falsifications, fences denoting truths falsified. Because their king is gone into exile, signifies that the truth of the church consequently perished, king denoting the truth of the church, and to go into exile signifying to be destroyed; that also the goods of the church, and thence all truths perished, is signified by the priests and the princes together, priests denoting the goods of the church, and princes truths thence.
[11] In Lamentations:
"They sit upon the earth, the elders of the daughter of Zion keep silence, they have cast up dust upon their head, they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have hung down their heads to the earth" (2:10).
To sit upon the earth, to keep silence, to cast up dust upon the head, and to hang down the head to the earth, were all signs representative of mourning and grief on account of the vastation of the church by evils and falsities. The elders of the daughter of Zion signify the wise and intelligent in the church, and, in the abstract, wisdom and intelligence. The daughters of Zion and the virgins of Jerusalem signify those in the church who are in the affection for good and truth, and, in the abstract, those affections themselves.
[12] In Ezekiel:
The shipmasters "shall make themselves bald for thee, and shall gird themselves with sackcloth, and they shall weep over thee with bitterness of soul, with a bitter wailing" (Ezekiel 27:3 1).
These words refer to Tyre, which signifies the church as to the knowledges of truth and good, consequently also the knowledges of truth and good that pertain to the church. Here mourning is described because those knowledges are lost. The shipmasters signify all those who bring and communicate those knowledges. To make bald signifies mourning because every thing pertaining to intelligence is destroyed; to gird with sackcloth signifies mourning because the cognition of truth also is destroyed. Because mourning is that which is described, it is therefore added, "they shall weep over thee with bitterness of soul, with bitter wailing."
[13] In the Evangelists:
Wo to thee, Chorazin, wo to thee, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in You, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13).
To repent in sackcloth and ashes means to grieve and mourn on account of the non-reception of Divine Truth, and on account of the falsities and evils which oppose.
[14] In Joel:
"Howl as a virgin girded with sackcloth over the bridegroom of her youth; gird yourselves about and wail, ye priests, howl ye ministers of the altar; come, pass the night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God, because the meat-offering and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God" (1:8, 13).
Here also to be girded with sackcloth, and to pass the night in sackcloth, signifies mourning because the good and truth of the church are destroyed, for the meat-offering signifies the good of the church, and the drink-offering its truth.
[15] In Amos:
"I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head, and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and its end as a bitter day" (8:10).
Sackcloth upon the loins signifies mourning because the good of love is destroyed, for this is signified by the loins; and baldness upon the head signifies mourning because the understanding of truth is destroyed.
[16] In Isaiah:
Upon all the heads" of Moab "baldness, every beard shaven in the streets thereof they have girded themselves with sackcloth; upon the roofs thereof, and in the streets thereof, he shall howl, going down into weeping" (15:2, 3).
In Jeremiah:
"Every head baldness, and every beard shaven; upon all hands ashes, and upon the loins sackcloth; upon all the roofs of Moab, and in the streets thereof, mourning everywhere" (48:37, 38).
By Moab are signified those who are in natural good and adulterate the goods of the church. That they have no understanding of truth, nor knowledge of truth, is signified by baldness upon all the heads of Moab, and by every beard shaven, also by howling and mourning upon the roofs and in the streets. Ashes upon all hands signify things falsified; mourning on account of this is signified by girding on sackcloth, also by howling and going down into weeping.
[17] In Isaiah:
"It shall come to pass, instead of spices, shall be corruption, and instead of a girdle, a rent, and instead of braided work, baldness, and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth, burning instead of beauty; thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy strength in the war" (3:24, 25).
These things are said of the daughters of Zion, who signify the church as to the affections for celestial good, consequently by the daughters of Zion are signified the affections for good pertaining to the celestial church. The loss and dissipation of these through the pride of [man's] own intelligence is there described by the various things with which those daughters adorn themselves. Instead of spices shall be corruption, instead of a girdle, a rent, instead of braided work, baldness, instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth, and instead of beauty, burning, signifies the changing of their affections into those of a contrary and unbeautiful kind. By corruption is signified the perishing of what is vital. By a rent instead of a girdle is signified the dissipation of the perceptions of truth, instead of the union of them; by baldness instead of braided work is signified foolishness instead of knowledge; by burning instead of beauty is signified folly instead of intelligence, burning denoting the insanity that arises from pride in [one's] own intelligence, which is folly, while beauty denotes intelligence. Thy men shall fall by the sword and thy strength in the war signifies that the truths of the understanding would perish by means of falsities, until there would be no resistance against evils, the sword denoting falsity destroying the truth.
[18] Sackcloth signifies the same in the following passages; as in Ezekiel:
"All hands are let down, all knees go into waters, whence they shall gird themselves with sackcloth, and terror shall cover them, and upon all faces shall be shame, and upon all heads baldness" (7:17, 18).
In David:
"I, when they were sick, made my garment sackcloth, I afflicted my soul with hunger" (Psalm 35:13).
Again:
"When I wept in the fast of my soul, it became to me a reproach; when I made sackcloth my garment, I became a byword to them" (Psalm 69:10, 11).
In Job:
"I sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and put tiny horn in the dust; my face was troubled through weeping" (16:15, 16).
In Isaiah:
"I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering" (50:3).
And in David:
"Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing, thou hast opened my sackcloth, and hast girded me with joy" (Psalm 30:11).
In these passages also sackcloth signifies mourning and to gird sackcloth upon the body instead of a garment signifies mourning because the truth of the church is destroyed; and to gird sackcloth upon the loins and upon the flesh signifies mourning because the good of the church is destroyed. For a garment signifies the truth of the church, and the loins and flesh signify the good of the church.
[19] That to gird on sackcloth was merely representative and thence significative of mourning and repentance, but was not itself either mourning or repentance, is evident in Isaiah:
"Is it such a fast as this that I shall choose, a day for a man to afflict his soul, to bow down his head as a rush, and to lie down in sackcloth and ashes; wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah? Is not this the fast that I choose, to loose the bonds of wickedness, to break thy bread to the hungry, and to bring the afflicted exiles to thy house, and when thou seest the naked that thou cover him?" (58:5-7).
In Joel:
"Turn ye unto me with your whole heart, and in fasting, and in weeping, and in wailing; and rend your heart, and not your garments" (ii.
[12,] 13).
637. Clothed in sackcloth, signifies in mourning because of the non-reception of Divine good and Divine truth. This is evident from the signification of "clothed in sackcloth," as being mourning because of the vastation and desolation of Divine good and Divine truth, here because of their non-reception; for the witnesses were seen clothed in sackcloth, and they signify the Divine good, from which is every good of love and charity, and the Divine truth, from which is every truth of doctrine and faith; these appear to be in mourning when they are not received, but in joy when they are received.
[2] Likewise it is said of the sun and moon, which also signify the good of love and the truth of faith, that:
The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood (401); not that the sun in the angelic heaven, which is the Lord, ever becomes black, but that it so appears to those who receive no light from it.
[3] In ancient times, when the externals of the church consisted of mere correspondences and thence of representatives of things spiritual, mourning was represented by many things that are significative; as by sitting and lying on the ground, rolling themselves in the dust, by putting ashes on the head, rending the garments, and putting on sackcloth. "Rending the garments and putting on sackcloth" signified mourning because of the desolation of truth and good in the church, and because of the nonreception of them; for "garments" in general signified the truths of the church (See above, n. 64, 65, 195, 271, 395, 475, 476); therefore "rending the garments" signified grief because the truths of the church are hurt and as it were rent asunder by falsities; and "to be clothed in sackcloth" signifies mourning because of the deprivation of good and truth, and the consequent vastation of the church.
[4] For this reason:
When Hezekiah the king heard the words of Tartan the captain of the king of Assyria, he rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth, and came to the house of Jehovah; and he sent Eliakim who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah (2 Kings 19:1, 2; Isaiah 37:1, 2).
This was done because the "king of Assyria" here signifies the perverted rational, or the rational that perverts the truths and goods of the church and destroys them by falsities; all the words of Tartan the captain of the king of Assyria, involve such things; and because the desolation and vastation of the church was seen to be imminent, to exhibit mourning and grief on this account they rent their garments and covered themselves with sackcloth.
[5] Likewise:
When Benhadad the king of Syria besieged Samaria, and there came a great famine, the king rent his clothes, and as he passed by upon the wall the people saw that, behold, sackcloth was upon his flesh within (2 Kings 6:30).
This has a similar signification as above, namely, the imminent desolation and devastation of the church; for this reason the king rent his garments and had sackcloth upon his flesh, which was a representative sign of mourning and grief.
[6] Mourning for like reasons is signified also by the following:
Jacob, when he believed that Joseph was torn to pieces, rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days (Genesis 37:34).
So when Ahab, by the advice of Jezebel his wife, had taken away the vineyard of Naboth, and had heard the hard words of the prophet respecting that matter, he rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, yea, he lay in sackcloth, and went softly (1 Kings 21:27).
The king of Nineveh also, when he heard the words of Jonah, arose up from his throne, and laid his robe from him and covered him with sackcloth, and sat upon ashes, and proclaimed a fast, and that man and beast should be covered with sackcloth (Jonah 3:5, 6, 8).
So also Daniel set his face to the Lord God, to seek by supplication and prayer in fasting, sackcloth, and ashes (Daniel 9:3).
When Abner was slain, David said to Joab and to all the people that were with him, that they should rend their clothes and gird them with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner; and David himself walked behind the bier (2 Samuel 3:31).
This makes clear that in the Jewish and Israelitish church mourning was represented by "rending the clothes and being clothed in sackcloth;" and this because grief of mind and mourning of heart, which were interior things, were represented at that time by external things, which because of their correspondences with spiritual things were significative.
[7] That the representation of mourning by sackcloth signified especially mourning because of the desolation of truth and vastation of good in the church, and also, in particular, repentance, with mourning of heart on account of evils, can be seen further from the following passages. In Isaiah:
In that day will the Lord Jehovih of hosts call to weeping and to lamenting, and to baldness, and to girding on sackcloth (Isaiah 22:12).
This chapter treats of the vastation of the church in respect to Divine truth; its mourning is described by "baldness" and by "putting on sackcloth."
[8] In Jeremiah:
The lion is gone up from the thicket, and the destroyer of nations journeyeth; he hath gone forth out of his place to make the land a waste; thy cities shall be destroyed, that there shall be no inhabitant; for this gird ye with sackcloth, lament, howl (Jeremiah 4:7, 8).
"The lion from the thicket" signifies the falsity of evil destroying the truths of the church; and "the destroyer of nations" signifies the evil of falsity destroying the good of the church; the "land that they will make a waste" signifies the church, and the "cities that shall be destroyed" signify the truths of doctrine; "to gird with sackcloth" signifies mourning on this account, therefore it is added "lament and howl."
[9] In the same:
O daughter of My people, gird thee with sackcloth and roll thee in ashes; make thee mourning for an only one, a lamentation of bitterness, for the waster shall suddenly come upon us (Jeremiah 6:26).
"Daughter of the people" means the church; "to gird herself with sackcloth and roll herself in ashes" signifies mourning because of the destruction of the good and truth of the church; the destruction of these or the vastation of the church is meant by "the waster shall suddenly come." Evidently grievous mourning and grief because of the destruction of good and truth is signified by "gird thee with sackcloth and roll thee in ashes," for it is added "make thee mourning for an only one, a lamentation of bitterness."
[10] In the same:
Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is devastated; cry out, ye daughters of Rabbah; gird ye with sackcloth, lament, and wander among the walls; for their king is gone into exile, his priests and princes together (Jeremiah 49:3).
This is said of the sons of Ammon, who signify such as are in natural good and falsify the truths of the church; those who are such in the church are meant by "the daughters of Rabbah;" mourning because of the destruction of truth by falsifications is signified by "Gird ye with sackcloth, lament, wander among the walls," "walls" signifying truths falsified; that the truth of the church perished in consequence is signified by "their king is gone into exile," "king" signifying the truth of the church, and "to go into exile" signifying to be destroyed. That the goods of the church and all truths therefrom likewise perished, is signified by "priests and princes together," "priests" signifying the goods of the church, and "princes" the truths therefrom.
[11] In Lamentations:
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the earth, they keep silence, they have cast up dust upon their head, they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem bend their head down to the earth (Lamentations 2:10).
"To sit upon the earth," "to keep silence," "to cast up dust upon the head," and "to make the head to bend down to the earth," were all signs representative of mourning and grief because of the vastation of the church by evils and falsities. "The elders of the daughter of Zion" signify those that are wise and intelligent in the church, and in an abstract sense wisdom and intelligence; "daughters of Zion and the virgins of Jerusalem" signify those in the church who are in the affection of good and truth, and in an abstract sense these affections themselves.
[12] In Ezekiel:
The shipmasters shall make themselves bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep over thee in bitterness of soul, with bitter lamentation (Ezekiel 27:31).
This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church in respect to the knowledges of truth and good, and therefore also the knowledges of truth and good which belong to the church; here mourning on account of the destruction of these is described. "Shipmasters" signify all who bring and communicate these knowledges; "to make bald" signifies mourning on account of the destruction of all things of intelligence; "to gird with sackcloth" signifies mourning because the ability to know truth is also destroyed. Because mourning is what is described, it is added, "they shall weep over thee in bitterness of soul, with bitter lamentation. "
[13] In the Gospels:
Woe unto thee Chorazin, woe unto thee Bethsaida, for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13).
"To repent in sackcloth and ashes" means to grieve and mourn because of the nonreception of Divine truth, and because of the falsities and evils that obstruct.
[14] In Joel:
Howl as a virgin girded with sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth; gird ye and lament, ye priests; howl, ye ministers of the altar; come, pass the night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withholden from the house of your God (Joel 1:8, 13).
Here "to be girded with sackcloth" and "to pass the night in sackcloth" signify mourning because the good and truth of the church are destroyed, for the "meal offering" signifies the good of the church, and the "drink offering" its truth.
[15] In Amos:
I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head, and I will make it as a mourning for an only one, and its latter end as a bitter day (Amos 8:10).
"Sackcloth upon the loins" signifies mourning because the good of love is destroyed, for this is signified by the "loins;" and "baldness upon the head" signifies mourning because the understanding of truth is destroyed.
[16] In Isaiah:
Upon all the heads of Moab is baldness, every beard shaven; in its streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; upon its roofs and in its streets he shall howl, flowing down in weeping (Isaiah 15:2, 3).
In Jeremiah:
Every head baldness, and every beard shaven; upon all hands gashes, and upon the loins sackcloth; upon all the roofs of Moab and in its streets mourning everywhere (Jeremiah 48:37, 38).
"Moab" signifies those who are in natural good and who adulterate the goods of the church; that such have no understanding of truth or knowledge of truth is signified by "upon all the heads of Moab baldness, and every beard shaven," also by "upon its roofs and in its streets he shall howl" and "there shall be mourning;" "upon all hands gashes" signifies things falsified; mourning because of these things is signified by "to gird with sackcloth," and "to howl," and "to flow down in weeping."
[17] In Isaiah:
It shall come to pass in place of spices there shall be rottenness, and in place of a girdle tatters, and in place of braided work baldness, and in place of a robe a girding of sackcloth, in place of beauty burning; thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy might in the war (Isaiah 3:24, 25).
This is said of "the daughters of Zion," by whom the church in respect to the affections of celestial good is signified, therefore "the daughters of Zion" signify the affections of good that belong to the celestial church. The loss and dissipation of these through the pride of self-intelligence is here described by the various things with which these daughters adorn themselves; the change of these affections into opposite and unbeautiful affections is signified by "in place of spices there shall be rottenness, in place of a girdle tatters, in place of braided work baldness, in place of a robe a girding of sackcloth, and in place of beauty burning;" "rottenness" signifies the vital perishing; "in place of a girdle tatters" signifies the dissipation of perceptions of truth instead of their union; "in place of braided work baldness" signifies imbecility instead of knowledge [scientia]; "in place of beauty burning" signifies foolishness instead of intelligence, "burning" signifying insanity from the pride of self-intelligence, which is foolishness, and "beauty" signifying intelligence. That the truths of the understanding will perish by falsities, even till there is no resistance against evils, is signified by "thy men shall fall by the sword and thy might in the war," "sword" meaning falsity destroying the truth.
[18] "Sackcloth" has a similar meaning in the following passages. In Ezekiel:
All hands are relaxed, all knees go into waters, whence they shall gird themselves with sackcloth, and terror shall cover them, and upon all faces shall be shame, and upon all heads baldness (Ezekiel 7:17, 18).
In David:
I, when they were sick, made sackcloth my vesture, I afflicted my soul with hunger (Psalms 35:13).
When I wept in the fast of my soul it became to me a reproach; when I made sackcloth my garment I became a byword to them (Psalms 69:10, 11).
In Job:
I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have put my horn in the dust; my face has been soiled by weeping (Job 16:15, 16).
In Isaiah:
I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering (Isaiah 50:3).
And in David:
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing, thou hast loosed my sackcloth and hast girded me with joy (Psalms 30:11).
In these passages, too, "sackcloth" signifies mourning; and "to gird sackcloth over the body instead of the vesture" signifies mourning because of the destruction of the truth of the church; and "to gird sackcloth upon the loins and upon the flesh" signifies mourning because of the destruction of the good of the church; for "the vesture" signifies the truth of the church, and "loins and flesh" signify the good of the church.
[19] That "girding with sackcloth" was merely representative and thus significative of mourning and repentance, but was not in itself mourning and repentance, is evident in Isaiah:
Is such the fast that I shall choose, the day for a man to afflict his soul, to bow down his head as a rush, and to lie down in sackcloth and ashes; wilt thou call this a fast, and the day of Jehovah's good pleasure? Is not this the fast that I choose, to loose the bonds of wickedness, to break thy bread to the hungry, and to bring the afflicted exiles to the home, and when thou seest the naked that thou cover him? (Isaiah 58:5-7)
And in Joel:
Turn ye back unto me with your whole heart, and in fasting and in weeping and in lamentation, and rend your heart and not your garments (Joel 2:12, 13).
637. "Circuminduti saccis." - Quod significet in luctu propter non receptionem Divini Boni ac Divini Veri, constat ex significatione "indui saccis", quod sit luctus propter vastationem et desolationem Divini Boni et Divini Veri; hic propter non receptionem eorum, nam "testes" visi sunt induti saccis, et per illos significatur Divinum Bonum ex quo omne bonum amoris et charitatis, ac Divinum Verum ex quo omne verum doctrinae et fidei; haec apparent in luctu quando non recipiuntur, at in gaudio quando recipiuntur:
[2] sicut etiam dicitur de sole et de luna, per quae etiam significatur bonum amoris et verum fidei, quod
"Sol factus sit niger ficut saccus cilicinus, et quod luna facta sit sicut sanguis" (Apocalypsis 6:12);
per quae significatur quod omne bonum amoris disparatum sit, et omne verum fidei falsificatum (videatur supra, n. 401); non quod Sol in caelo angelico, qui est Dominus, usquam fiat niger, sed quod ita appareat illis qui non recipiunt aliquam lucem inde.
[3] Antiquis temporibus, quando externa ecclesiae ex meris correspondentiis et inde repraesentativis spiritualium constabant, repraesentabatur luctus per plura quae significabant; sicut per quod sederent et jacerent humi, quod volverent se in pulvere, quod cinerem imponerent capiti, quod discinderent vestes, et quod induerent saccos: quod "disciderint vestes et induerint saccos" significabat luctum propter desolationem veri et boni in ecclesia, et propter non receptionem eorum; "vestes" enim in genere significabant vera ecclesiae (videatur supra, n. 64, 65, 195, 271, 395, 475 [a] , 476); inde "discissio vestium" significabat dolorem propter vera ecclesiae laesa et a falsis quasi disrupta; et induitio sacci significabat luctum propter deprivationem boni et veri, et inde vastationem ecclesiae:
[4] quapropter,
#Quando Hiskias Rex audivit verba Thartanis praefecti regis Assyriae, Discidit vestes suas, et obtexit se sacco, et venit domum Jehovae; et misit Eliakimum qui supra domum, et Schebnam scribam, et seniores sacerdotum obtectos saccis ad Esaiam" (2 Regnum 19:1, 2; Esaias 37:1, 2):
hoc factum est, quia per "regem Assyriae" ibi significatur rationale perversum, seu rationale quod pervertit vera et bona ecclesiae ac destruit illa per falsa; omnia verba Thartanis praefecti regis Assyriae involvunt talia: et quia ecclesiae desolatio et vastatio sic imminere visa est, ideo ad testificandum luctum et dolorem propterea, disciderunt vestes et obtexerunt se sacco.
[5] Similiter,
#Cum Benhadadus rex Syriae obsideret Samariam, et facta ingens fames, "Rex rupit vestes suas; et cum transibat super muro, vidit populus quod ecce saccus super carne ejus intus" (2 Reg 6:30 1
):
simile etiam hic significatur quod supra, nempe imminens desolatio et devastatio ecclesiae; quapropter rex "rupit vestes", et super carne habebat "saccum", quae signa repraesentativa luctus et doloris erant.
[6] Luctus ob similia etiam significabatur per
#Quod Jacobus, cum credidit quod Josephus discerptus esset. disciderit vestes suas, et posuerit saccum super lumbis suis, et luxerit super filio suo multis diebus (Gen. 37:34 2
);
#Tum quod Achabus, postquam ex consilio lsabelis uxoris abstulit Nabotho vineam, et audivit verba prophetae dura de illa re, 3
ruperit vestes suas, et posuerit saccum super carnem suam, et jejunaverit; immo cubuerit in sacco, et incesserit lente (1 Regnum 21:27);
#Ut et quod rex Ninives, postquam audivit verba Jonae, surrexerit de throno, et deposuerit chlamydem suam desuper se, et obduxerit saccum, et sederit super cinere, ac proclamaverit jejunium, ac ut operirentur saccis homo et bestia (Jonas 3:5, 6, 8);
#Tum quod Daniel dederit facies suas ad Dominum Deum, ad quaerendum orationem et preces in jejunio, sacco et cinere (Daniel 9:3);
#Quod postquam occisus esset Abnerus, dixerit David ad Joabum et ad omnem populum qui cum illo, quod scinderent vestes, et circumcingerent saccos, et plangerent ante Abnerum; et quod ipse David incesserit post lectum (2 Samuelis 3:31).
Ex his patet quod in Ecclesia Judaica et Israelitica luctus repraesentatus fuerit per disruptionem vestium et induitionem sacci; et hoc quia dolor mentis et luctus cordis, quae erant interiora, eo tempore repraesentabantur per externa, quae propter correspondentiam cum spiritualibus erant significativa.
[7] Quod repraesentativum luctus per saccos imprimis significaverit luctum propter desolationem veri ac vastationem boni in ecclesia, et quoque in particulari paenitentiam, et tunc luctum cordis propter mala, constare potest adhuc a sequentibus his locis:
- Apud Esaiam,
#"Vocabit Dominus Jehovih Zebaoth in die illo ad fletum et ad planctum et ad calvitiem et ad induendum saccum" (22:12):
agitur in eo capite de vastatione ecclesiae quoad Divinum Verum; luctus ejus describitur per "calvitiem" et per "induitionem sacci."
[8] Apud Jeremiam,
#"Ascendit leo ex vepreto, et perditor gentium profectus est, exivit e loco suo ad redigendum terram in vastitatem, urbes tuae destruentur ut non [sit] habitator; propter hoc accingite saccos, plangite, ejulate" (4:7, 8):
per "leonem ex vepreto" significatur falsum mali destruens vera ecclesiae; et per "perditorem gentium" significatur malum falsi destruens bonum ecclesiae ; per "terram", quam redigent in vastitatem, significatur ecclesia; et per "urbes", quae destruentur, significantur vera doctrinae; per "accingere saccos" significatur luctus propterea, quare etiam dicitur "Plangite et ejulate."
[9] Apud eundem,
#"Filia populi mei, cinge te sacco, et volve te in cinere, luctum unigeniti fac tibi, planctum amaritudinis; quia subito veniet vastator super nos" (6:26):
per "filiam populi" intelligitur ecclesia; per "cingere se sacco et volvere se in cinere" significatur luctus propter deperditum ecclesiae bonum et verum; perditio eorum seu vastatio ecclesiae intelligitur per quod "subito veniet vastator"; quod gravis luctus et dolor propter deperditum ecclesiae bonum et verum per "cingere se sacco et volvere se in cinere" significetur, patet; nam adjicitur, "Luctum unigeniti fac tibi, planctum amaritudinis."
[10] Apud eundem,
#"Ejula Cheschbon, quia devastata est Ai; clamate, filiae Rabbae, accingite saccos, plangite, et vagamini inter macerias; quia rex eorum In exilium abivit, sacerdotes ejus et principes simul" (49:3):
haec de filiis Ammonis, per quos significantur qui in bono naturali sunt, et falsificant vera ecclesiae; illi qui tales sunt in ecclesia intelliguntur per "filias Rabbae"; luctus propter deperditum verum per falsificationes significatur per "Accingite saccos, plangite, vagamini inter macerias"; "maceriae" significant vera falsificata: quod verum ecclesiae inde perierit, significatur per "quia rex eorum in exilium abivit"; "rex" significat verum ecclesiae, et "in exilium abire" significat deperdi: quod etiam bona ecclesiae et inde omnia vera, significatur per quod "sacerdotes et principes simul"; "sacerdotes" significant bona ecclesiae, et "principes" vera inde.
[11] In Threnis,
#"Sedent in terra, conticescunt seniores filiae Zionis, ascendere fecerunt pulverem super caput suum, cinxerunt se saccis, descendere fecerunt in terram caput...virgines Hierosolymae" (2:10):
"sedere in terra", "conticescere", "ascendere facere pulverem super caput", et "descendere facere in terram caput", erant omnia signa repraesentativa luctus et dolorum propter vastatam a malis et falsis ecclesiam: "seniores filiae Zionis" significant sapientes et intelligentes in ecclesia, et abstracte sapientiam et intelligentiam; "filiae Zionis" et "virgines Hierosolymae" significant illos in ecclesia qui in affectione boni et veri sunt, et abstracte ipsas affectiones.
[12] Apud Ezechielem,
#Naucleri "inducent super te calvitiem, et accingent saccos, et flebunt super te amaritudine animae, planctu amaro" (27:31):
haec de Tyro, per quam significatur ecclesia quoad cognitiones veri et boni; proinde etiam significantur cognitiones veri et boni quae sunt ecclesiae; hic describitur luctus ob illas deperditas: "naucleri" significant omnes qui illas ferunt et communicant; " 4
inducere calvitiem" significat luctum propter omnia intelligentiae deperdita; "accingere saccos" significat luctum propter cognitivum veri etiam deperditum: quia luctus est qui describitur, ideo adjicitur, "Flebunt super te amaritudine animae, planctu amaro."
[13] Apud Evangelistas,
#"Vae tibi, Chorazin; vae tibi, Bethsaida; propterea quod si in Tyro et Sidone factae fuissent virtutes quae factae sunt in vobis, olim in sacco et cinere paenitentiam egissent" (Matthaeus 11:21; Luca 10:13):
"in sacco et cinere paenitentiam agere" est dolere et lugere propter non receptionem Divini Veri, et propter falsa et mala quae obstiterunt.
[14] Apud Joelem,
#"Ejula sicut virgo cincta sacco super sponso adolescentiae suae;.... circumcingimini et plangite, sacerdotes; ejulate, ministri altaris; venite, pernoctate in saccis, ministri Dei mei; quia prohibita a domo Dei vestri minchah et libamen" (1:8, 13):
hic "cingi sacco", et "pernoctare in saccis", significat luctum propter deperditum bonum et verum ecclesiae, nam per "mincham" significatur bonum ecclesiae, et per "libamen" verum ejus.
[15] Apud Amos,
#"Ascendere faciam super omnes lumbos saccum, et super omne caput calvitiem, et ponam eam sicut luctum unigeniti, et postrema ejus sicut diem amarum" (8:10):
"saccus super lumbos" significat luctum ob deperditum bonum amoris, hoc enim significatur per "lumbos"; "et calvities super caput" significat luctum ob deperditum intellectum veri.
[16] Apud Esaiam,
#"In omnibus capitibus" Moabi "calvities, omnis barba rasa, in plateis ejus accinxerunt saccum, super tectis ejus et in plateis ejus ejulabit, descendens in fletum" (15:2, 3);
apud Jeremiam,
#Omne caput calvities, et omnis barba rasa, super omnibus manibus incisiones, et super lumbis saccus, super omnibus tectis Moabi, et in plateis ejus totus luctus" (48:37, 38):
per "Moabum" significantur illi qui in bono naturali sunt, et adulterant bona ecclesiae; quod intellectus veri illis nullus sit, nec scientia veri, significatur per quod "in omnibus capitibus Moabi calvities, et omnis barba rasa", tum per quod "in tectis ejus et in plateis ejus ejulabit" et "erit luctus": "incisiones super omnibus manibus" significant falsificata; luctus propterea significatur per "accingere saccum", tum per "ejulare" et "descendere in fletum."
[17] Apud Esaiam,
#"Fiet, loco aromatis tabes erit, et loco cinguli discissio, et loco operis implexi calvities, et loco togae cinctura sacci, adustio loco pulchritudinis; homines tui gladio cadent, et robur tuum in bello" (3:24, 25):
haec de "filiabus Zionis", per quas significatur ecclesia quoad affectiones boni caelestis; proinde per "filias Zionis significantur affectiones boni quae sunt ecclesiae caelestis: jactura et dissipatio illarum per fastum propriae intelligentiae describitur ibi per varia quibus filiae illae se exornant; mutatio illarum affectionum in contrarias et impulchras significatur per quod "loco aromatis tabes, loco cinguli discissio, loco operis implexi calvities, loco togae cinctura sacci, et loco pulchritudinis adustio"; per "tabem" significatur periens vitale; per "discissionem loco cinguli" significatur dissipatio perceptionum veri loco connexionis illarum; per "calvitiem loco operis implexi" significatur fatuitas loco scientiae; per "adustionem loco pulchritudinis" significatur stultitia loco intelligentiae ("adustio" significat insaniam ex fastu propriae intelligentiae quae est stultitia, et "pulchritudo" significat intelligentiam): quod vera intellectus peritura sint per falsa, usque ut nulla resistentia sit contra mala, significatur per quod "homines tui gladio cadent, et robur tuum in bello"; "gladius" est falsum destruens verum.
[18] Similia per "saccum" significantur in his sequentibus :
Apud Ezechielem,
#"Omnes manus remissae, omnia genua abeunt in aquas, unde accingent saccos, et colliget eos terror, et super omnibus faciebus pudor, et in omnibus capitibus..calvities" (7:17, 18);
apud Davidem,
#Ego, cum illi aegrotarent, vestis mea saccus, afflixi fame animam meam" (Psalms 35:13);
apud eundem,
#"Cum flevi in jejunio animae meae, factum mihi est in opprobria; cum dedi vestem meam saccum, factus sum illis in dicterium" (Psalms 69:11, 12);
apud Hiobum,
#"Saccum consui super cutem meam, et feci pulvere cornu meum; facies meae turbatae sunt prae fletu" (16:15, 16);
apud Esaiam,
#"Vestio caelos atrore, et saccum facio velamen eorum" (50:3);
et apud Davidem,
#"Convertisti luctum meum in choream mihi, aperuisti saccum meum, et accinxisti me gaudio" (Psalms 30:12 [B.A. 11]):
in his locis "saccus" etiam significat luctum, ac "succingere saccum supra corpus loco vestis" significat luctum propter deperditum verum ecclesiae; et "accingere saccum super lumbos et super carnem" significat luctum propter deperditum bonum ecclesiae; nam "vestis" significat verum ecclesiae, ac "lumbi" et "caro" significant bonum ecclesiae.
[19] Quod accingere saccum modo repraesentativum et inde significativum luctus et paenitentiae fuerit, at in se non luctus et paenitentia, constat apud Esaiam,
#Num sicut hoc erit jejunium quod eligam, dies quo affligit homo animam suam, ut incurvet sicut juncus caput suum, et in sacco et cinere cubet? num hoc vocabis jejunium et diem beneplaciti Jehovae? Nonne hoc jejunium quod eligo, aperire vincula malitiae, .... frangere famelico panem tuum, et afflictos exules introducas domum? cum videris nudum et obtexeris illum?" (58:5-7);
et apud Joelem,
#"Convertimini ad Me toto corde vestro, et in jejunio et in fletu et in planctu; et scindite cor vestrum, et non vestes Vestras " (2 [12,] 13).
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.
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4. The editors made a correction or note here.