The Earth is the Lord's

Preached on 02-13-00

THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S

A Sermon by the Rev. Patrick A. Rose

"The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the rivers." (Ps. 24:1,2)

WHAT IS THE CHURCH? As little children many of us may have thought of the church as being primarily a building. It was a place in which we worshiped the Lord. As our minds grew older, we came to believe that the church is the people who belong to it, a group of people who have joined together in a common belief in and worship of the Lord. Only in adult age can we come to see clearly that this idea also is limited. The church is more than the people who belong to it. It is the Lord alone who makes the church. His presence and conjunction with people is the church, not the people themselves. It is vital to realize that the church does not belong to us; the church is the Lord's. If a person feels that he has, in some sense, part ownership in the church, or if he feels that his relationship with the church is primarily so that the church can serve him, he makes a tragic mistake. He appropriates to himself what is the Lord's alone.

From the language of correspondences we know that where the earth is mentioned in the Word, the church is meant. And, at the beginning of the 24th Psalm, the truth that the earth, or the church, is the Lord's, is clearly taught: "The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness." Yet only with strong effort on our own parts can we come into the full acknowledgment of this truth. It is so easy to forget that the church really is the Lord's alone. If, though, the people of the church do not make this effort to recognize the church as the Lord's, then the church with them will die.

The church transcends its people. This does not mean that they are to be uninvolved. Though it might at first seem contradictory, the Lord's church, which belongs to no man, has its specific existence only in the individual mind. The member of the church must himself be a church, or there would be no church in general (AC 4292:1). Yet this is the nature of the Lord's church, or kingdom. The Lord alone, and no man, builds His kingdom; but the Lord builds this kingdom within human minds. The church, or the Lord's kingdom, is His presence, and though no man makes the Lord's presence, this presence is specifically in the human mind alone. Those people who would be of the church must therefore be deeply involved. Not only must they dedicate time and energy to the Lord's work, but they must also offer their very minds as dwelling-places in which the Lord can be present. They must make it possible for the Lord to establish His kingdom or church within their thoughts, within their affections.

THE FOUNDING OF THE EARTH OR THE WORLD, that is, the founding of the church as to truth and good (AE 741:8), is described within the words of our text: "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the rivers." Though the earth or the world, in a natural sense, is certainly not founded upon the seas and rivers, the dwelling-place of the Lord is indeed so founded. It is founded upon the seas and rivers of our minds.

The correspondence of water as being truth is well-known in the church. Whether the Word is talking about waters, rivers, streams or wells, we know that, in the internal sense, water stands for truth. Now, just as the waters of the earth, when collected together in great abundance, are called seas, so too, collections of many truths in our minds form spiritual seas (AC 28, 9755:3). Certainly, when we consider the multitude of facts we have learned from childhood, we realize that we could never list all that we know. Even the relatively ignorant person has at his disposal a veritable ocean of facts. Facts about the performance of everyday chores, facts about the area in which we live, facts about our jobs, our friends, our country, and many, many more things are, as it were, seas of knowledge within us, without which we could scarcely function in the world. Such factual knowledge is essential for life in this world. And yet worldly knowledges by themselves do us a disservice. So wrapped up in the matters of the world can we become, that we scarcely glance upwards to reflect on a higher reality. The church could never be founded within our minds if there were not, amongst this sea of worldly facts, knowledges taken from the Lord's Word.

There must be, amongst the agitated muddy waters of worldly knowledge, clear, calm knowledges from the Word, for these reflect a higher reality, and turn our minds upwards to think about the realm of the spirit. Without these knowledges, so immersed in worldly affairs would we be, that the church would never be able to find room within our minds. The Lord's kingdom, which can exist only in human minds, would perish. From this it becomes clear beyond a doubt that the church depends for its continued existence and growth upon the religious instruction of the young. It is in childhood that a vast sea of knowledges of the literal sense of the Word can most easily be formed. We must teach religion to our children, and seek to instill these knowledges which alone can later direct the thoughts of the adult upwards towards spiritual truth.

The seas of the mind, gathered first in childhood, and then also throughout life, affect so greatly the adult rivers of thought. Whereas seas, being collections of water, signify collections of truth in the form of knowledges, rivers, being flowing water, signify truth as it exists in the flow of thoughts within the adult mind (AE 518:3). All of us are aware of these rivers within our minds. Our thoughts flow unceasingly from one subject to another, as one thing reminds us of something else. These rivers or currents of thought would also be clouded with worldly matters if they did not also contain the clear water of truth from the Word. If our thought is not to be taken up solely with the problems of this world, we must have truth from the Word to direct the flow of our thoughts upwards on a regular basis.

In this the knowledge from the Word we learnt in childhood is a great help. Indeed, it is a necessary basis. Yet in adult life we need more than memorized truth. We must take the time to think about and reflect upon the Word, so that truth can exist within our understandings. Then, and only then, can truth be not only something we think about, but also be an actual part of the river of thought. Only then can truth not only be collected together in our memories, but can also flow within our understandings. Without the adult reflection which makes this possible, the religious education of youth comes to naught. Knowledge within the memory forms the basis for the future formation of the Lord's church. "He has founded it upon the seas." Yet only truth within the understanding can allow the church within the individual to become a reality. He has "established it upon the rivers."

Once these rivers and seas formed from the Word are present in the mind, then the Lord's kingdom, or church can be founded and established by the Lord in our minds. We then have a knowledge and understanding of truth which can direct our lives to what is good, that is, to what is truly good. Ignorance leads us to call good whatever we enjoy. Without truth we are bound to slavishly follow our own preconceived ideas and inclinations. Yet once the Lord's truth becomes a part of our minds, we have another alternative. Truth teaches what the Lord wills, that is, what is truly good. We can do and come to love this good. It is in this good that the Lord is present. It is this spiritual good which forms His dwelling-place, His Church.

It is indeed a long upward path from knowing and understanding truth to a willingness to do the Lord's will alone. To rise above our own interests, our own selfish loves, to true charity, is by no means an instantaneous process. Our lives must gradually be purified by the waters of truth. Only then can we come into that love of doing the Lord's will represented in the 24th Psalm by "the mountain of the LORD." "Who may ascend into the mountain of the LORD? or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully" Our loves, our intentions and our deeds must be purified, that good may enter, that good which alone is the Lord's habitation.

Then it is that the Lord enters our minds. As we come into good, the gate of our heart is opened to receive the Lord. We are taught that into the rational mind of every person there are two gates. One is the gate of hell, and the other is the gate through which the Lord enters. And as the mind of man becomes a fit dwelling-place for the King of heaven, the gate to hell is gradually closed, and then the Lord's gate is opened to receive Him (cf. AC 2851:3). "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him . . ." (Rev. 3:20).

"Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in." It is most significant that the Lord is then called a King, for He comes as our Ruler. His truth then reigns supreme within our minds. We have within us the Lord's church or kingdom, that is, His government.

For this to happen to us may seem a far and almost unreachable goal. It perhaps strikes us as too idealistic for the people of the New Church, with all our weaknesses and failings. Yet to regard the Lord's entrance into our minds as an almost impossible dream in the far distant future is to ignore the reality that this can begin to happen now. Even now we can make the effort to make room for the Lord in our minds and our lives. Every day we can read the Word, that our knowledge of the Lord may increase, and that the flow of our thoughts may regularly be turned towards spiritual things. And every day we can strive little by little to rid ourselves of impure thoughts and evil actions. And as we do this, we are performing a use, a use for the Lord's church.

We need to provide a spiritual dwelling-place for the Lord, a dwelling-place within our own minds. To do so requires dedication. It requires effort. But it is by no means an impossible sacrifice. We lose nothing by rejecting the things of self, and by inviting the Lord into our minds. On the contrary, we receive countless, unimaginable heavenly blessings. Neither is the task of regeneration, for this is what it is, as difficult as we might imagine. In our temptations, the Lord fights for us. "Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle."

We are to provide our very minds as a dwelling-place for the Lord. Our church, said in the Writings to be a neighbor even greater than our country, depends upon us. The church is the Lord's. He governs it, and if He does not, then it is not truly the church. And if the Lord is to govern the church, then each individual must allow the Lord to govern him. Without this, the church, or the Lord's presence with mankind, will begin to fail. The church is indeed great. It truly transcends individual men and women. It is not our church, but the Lord's. But yet, for its existence amongst us, it depends upon those of us who will rise above ourselves to welcome into our minds the King of heaven. It depends upon those of us who will say to the Lord, within the very depths of our hearts, "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth."

Amen.

Lessons: Ps. 24; Rev. 3:20-22; AE 518:23