THE LAWS OF PERMISSION
ARE ALSO
LAWS OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Selection from
ANGELIC WISDOM
CONCERNING
THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Translated from the Latin of
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG
There are
no laws of permission by themselves or apart from the laws of the Divine
providence, but the two are the same; therefore God is said to permit, which
does not mean that He wills, but that on account of the end, which is salvation,
He cannot avert. Whatever is done for the sake of the end, which is salvation,
is according to the laws of the Divine providence. For the Divine providence, as
has been said before, is constantly moving in a way diverse from and contrary to
man's will, continually intent upon its end; and in consequence, at every
movement of its operation or at every step of its progress, where it observes
man to be swerving from that end, it guides, bends, and directs him according to
its laws, by leading him away from evil and leading him to good. That this
cannot be done without the permission of evil will be seen in what follows.
Moreover, nothing can be permitted without a reason, and the reason can be found
only in some law of the Divine providence, which law teaches why it is
permitted.
One who does not acknowledge the Divine providence at all does not in his heart
acknowledge God, but acknowledges nature in place of God, and human prudence in
place of the Divine providence. This does not appear to be true, because man can
think in one way or another, and can talk in one way or another. From his inner
self he is able to think and talk in one way, and from his outer self in another
way. He is like a hinge that can let the door turn either way, one way when one
is entering, and the other when going out; or like a sail by which a vessel can
be turned either way in its course, as the master sets it. Those that have
confirmed themselves in favor of human prudence to such an extent as to deny the
Divine providence, so long as they are in that thought of theirs, give heed to
nothing else, whatever they may be seeing, hearing, or reading; nor are they
able to do so, because they receive nothing from heaven, but only from
themselves. And because they draw conclusions from appearances and fallacies
only, and see nothing else, they can swear that it is so. Moreover, if they
acknowledge nature alone they may be angry with the defenders of Divine
providence; provided they are not priests, for they regard this as a matter
belonging to the teaching or function of the priesthood.
We will now enumerate some things that belong to permission and yet are in
accord with the laws of Divine providence, by which a merely natural man
confirms himself in favor of nature against God, and in favor of human prudence
against Divine providence. For example:-
• When he reads in the Word that the
wisest of mankind, Adam and his wife, suffered themselves to be seduced by a
serpent, and that God did not avert this by His Divine providence;
• that their
first son Cain killed his brother Abel, and that God did not withhold him at the
time by speaking with him, but only after the deed, by cursing him;
• that the Israelitish nation worshiped a golden calf in the desert, and acknowledged it as
the God who led them out of the land of Egypt, and yet Jehovah saw this from
Mount Sinai near by and did not seek to prevent it;
• also that David numbered the
people, and in consequence a plague was sent upon them, by which so many
thousands of men perished, and that God, not before but after the deed, sent Gad
the prophet to David and denounced punishment;
• that Solomon was permitted to
establish idolatrous worship,
• and many kings after him were permitted to profane
the temple and the holy things of the church;
• and finally, that that nation was
permitted to crucify the Lord.
In these and many other things in the Word one
who acknowledges nature and human prudence sees nothing but what is contrary to
Divine providence; therefore he can use these things as arguments for rejecting
it, if not in his outer thought which is nearest to speech, still in that inner
thought which is remote from it.
Every worshiper of himself and of nature confirms himself against the Divine
providence:-
• when he sees in the
world so many impious persons, and so many of their impieties, and at the same
time the glorying of some in these impieties, and yet no punishment of such by
God on this account.
• And he confirms himself against the Divine providence still further when he
sees that plots, devices, and frauds are successful even against the pious,
just, and sincere; and that injustice triumphs over justice in the courts and in
business.
• Especially does he confirm himself in this when he sees the impious exalted to
honors and to high offices in church and state, also abounding in wealth, and
living in luxury and magnificence; while on the other hand he sees the
worshipers of God despised and poor.
• He also confirms himself against Divine providence when he reflects that wars
are permitted, and the consequent slaughter of so many men, and the plundering
of so many cities, nations, and families;
• also that victories are on the side of prudence, and sometimes not on the side
of justice; and that it makes no difference whether the commander is an upright
man or not;
besides other things like these; all of which are permissions according to the
laws of the Divine providence.
The same natural man confirms himself against Divine providence when he
considers the religious conditions of various peoples;
• as that there are some who are wholly ignorant of God; some who worship the sun and moon; some also who
worship monstrous idols, graven images, and even dead men;
• still further when he sees the Mohammedan religion accepted by so many empires and kingdoms,
• and the Christian religion only in Europe, the smallest division of the habitable globe,
and there it is divided;
• and that there are some in it who claim for themselves
Divine power, and wish to be worshiped as gods, and that the dead are invoked;
•
also that there are some who place salvation in certain phrases which they
should think and talk about, making no account of the good works they should do;
also that there are few who live their religion;
• besides the heresies, of which
there have been many; also some that exist at this day, as those of the Quakers,
the Moravians, the Anabaptists, and others;
• also that Judaism still continues.
From these things he who denies Divine providence concludes that religion in
itself is nothing, but is necessary because it serves as a restraint.
To these arguments others can be added at this day by which those who think
interiorly in favor of nature and human prudence alone may still further confirm
themselves; as that the whole Christian world has acknowledged three Gods, not
knowing that God is one in person and in essence, and that the Lord is this one
God; also that it has not hitherto been known that in every particular of the
Word there is a spiritual sense, and that its holiness is from this; also that
it has not been known that to shun evils as sins is the Christian religion
itself; and that it has not been known that man lives a man after death. For men
can say to themselves and to one another, Why does the Divine providence, if
there is any, now first reveal such things?
All the things that have been mentioned ... have been presented to the end that
it may be seen that each and all things that take place in the world, both with
the evil and with the good, belong to the Divine providence; consequently that
the Divine providence is in the smallest particulars of man's thoughts and
actions, and therefore is universal. But as this cannot be seen from the things
presented unless each one is explained by itself they shall be briefly explained
in the order in which they were presented ... (Continue)
(The Divine
Providence 234 - 240)
|
