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ever remain hid, unacknowledged, and consequently unremoved. And I am further resolved to believe, like the men of Gennesareth, that a divine and holy virtue is ever present from the GREAT and HOLY GOD in the letter of His re vealed word; and that consequently, if by a right faith and pure life I maintain communica tion with that divine virtue, by submitting all my natural evils and errors to its purifying and controlling influence, I may then indulge the consolatory hope that sooner or later every disorderly affection, appetite, thought, word or work, will give place to the blessed order, purity and peace of the divine love and wisdom in my own happy bosom. AMEN.

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143

THE DEVIL CAST OUT FROM THE DAUGHTER OF THE WOMAN OF CANAAN.

MATT. XV. 21 to 29.

Then JESUS went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O LORD, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil, &c. &c.

Q. WHAT do you here understand by JESUS departing into the coasts of Tyre and Zidon?

A. According to the sense of the letter, by JESUS departing into the coasts of Tyre and Zidon is to be understood, that as to His body, or bodily presence, He really entered into those coasts. But whereas all that the BLESSED JESUS did, all His journeyings, His sojournings, and His resting-places were significative and representative of spiritual and celestial things relating to His church and kingdom; and as all places in the land of Canaan, and bordering

upon that land, were in like manner significative and representative; therefore by JESUS departing into the coasts of Tyre and Zidon, is to be understood a state into which He entered as to His humanity, in its progress towards union with His divinity, corresponding to the spiritual signification of Tyre and Zidon.

Q. And what do you conceive to be the spiritual signification of those two places?

A. These places, as being near the sea, and in the boundaries of the land of Canaan, were figurative of the knowledges, both interior and exterior, necessary for introduction into the church, or heaven, represented by the land of Canaan, Tyre being figurative of interior know, ledges, and Zidon of exterior. As therefore the descent of the BLESSED JESUS into Egypt, when He was a child, was figurative of His instruction in the scientifics of the church, with a view to the glorification of His human nature, or to making it divine; in like manner His departure here recorded into the coasts of Tyre and Zidon,' denotes His further instruction in the knowledges represented by those two places. Frequent mention is accordingly made in the Psalms and in the prophetic writings, both of Tyre and Zidon, and in all cases with reference to their internal spiritual signification as above stated.

Q. But it is written, that Behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devilwhat do you here unders

stand by a woman of Canaan coming out of those coasts?

A. According to the sense of the letter, by a woman of Canaan coming out of those coasts, is to be understood such a woman coming out of the coasts of Tyre and Zidon; but according to the spiritual or internal sense of the history, is to be understood the affection of truth in the church; for by Canaan is signified and represented the church; and by a woman, the affection of truth which constitutes the church; and by this woman coming out of the coasts of Tyre and Zidon is further denoted the affection of truth emerging from the knowledges in which it was principled, and advancing to that state of purification and conjunction with the SUPREME GOOD, to which those knowledges point,

Q. And what do you conceive to be implied in the words which follow, where it is written, And cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil?

A. By crying unto Him, is to be understood the vehement affection from which she spake; and by saying, is further to be understood the expression of that affection in her thought; and that this thought was grounded in a full persuasion of the divinity and divine humanity of the BLESSED JESUS whom she was addressing, is plain from the words which she applies on the occasion, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David. For by the exclamation, Have mercy on me, O Lord, is manifestly expressed

an acknowledgment of the divinity of the being to whom it was directed, and by the additional appellation of Thou Son of David, is marked with equal emphasis the acknowledgement of His HUMANITY. It is added, my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil, to denote that the vehemence of her affection, and the piety of her exclamation, were grounded in the painful sentiment, that the heavenly good of love and charity, which had been produced in her mind, was infested by the infernal opposite principles of evil and of defilement, for by daughter is signified such heavenly good, which had been produced from the affection of truth; and by being grievously vexed with a devil, is denoted the infestation excited by infernal evil and defile

ment.

Q. But it is said that he (JESUS) answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying, Send her away; for she erieth after us- -what do you here understand by Jesus answering her not a word?

A. According to the literal idea, the expres sion means that He was silent; but the spiritual idea involved in silence is that of astonishment, since this sentiment may be so great as to take away the use of speech. Thus it is written in the book of Revelations, (chap. viii. 1.) that there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour, to denote the astonishment, or amaze ment of the angelic host, at learning what was the state of the church, as it had been discovered in the preceding chapter. The silence, therefore,

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