Purpose of Proverbs Translation

The writings of Swedenborg can be pithy and difficult to read in our age. They were originally written in Latin. What I have done here is reflect on sentences and attempt to boil their meaning down into easily understandable "proverbs".

Friday, February 4, 2011

12 Citations from Divine Providence book by Emanuel Swedenborg simplified into proverbs

What makes us human is the goodness of our love and the truths of our wisdom.  D.P. 172

Being taught from the Word is being taught by the Lord himself.  D.P. 172

What we learn in the Word in this world is small compared to what we’ll learn as angels.  D.P. 172

The wisdom of angels is present throughout the Word, in every detail.  D.P. 172

The only ways the Word can be taught is through parents, teachers, preachers, books.    But these are not our teachers, the Lord is, He’s using them as means.  D.P. 172

Divine truth and divine love is given to evil people and good people.  D.P. 173

We cannot be inwardly organized by the Lord except to the extent that outward matters are set in order through our own efforts.  D.P. 174

We cannot sense or feel anything of the working of Divine Providence but spiritual people still can know about it and acknowledge it. D.P. 175

 Superficial views and consequent illusions blind our discernment and our discernment cannot gain any sight unless the illusions that lblind it and the distortions that becloud it are dispelled.  D.P. 175

To have a sense of self and be human we must have a sense of worth so our choices of evil or good will matter to us.  D.P. 176

We all think because we are free and we all think freely.  D.P. 176

The evil that is ours does not instantly accept the goodness that the Lord is giving, and the goodness from the Lord does not rid us of our evil instantly.  D.P. 177

We are not granted foreknowledge of events so we can keep our ability to act in freedom and to act rationally.  D.P. 178

If an outcome were foreknown we would have no hope as we see or await a result.  D.P. 178

Our human mind is constantly engaged with purposes, means, and results:  1.  The impulse of our volition is the originating purpose; 2.  the thinking of our discernment is the effectual means; 3.  the action of the body, the speech of the mouth, or our physical sensation, is the result of the purpose that is achieved through thought.  D.P. 178

No one is allowed to know the future but we can draw conclusion about the future on the basis of reason.  D.P. 179

A desire to know the future is innate in many people, but since this desire originates in a love for what is evil, it is taken away from people who believe in divine providence, and they are given a trust that the Lord will take care of their fate.  D.P. 179

Because we mismanage outward matters like eating and drinking we must not be given control of inner matters which are infinite like the two hemisphere of our brains, nerve fibers, organs, and our blood.  D.P. 180


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