Page:The New Church - What, How, Why .djvu/39

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THE • NEW • CHURCH—HOW
35

2. Application of the Law to the Word

The law is best understood in its application. In a theme so vast, only a few brief and most limited illustrations can be give here. First we will observe its application in particular instances, and then in a more general way.

The natural body must have bread and water from the earth to sustain it. The spirit must have bread and water from the spiritual world to sustain it. The "bread which cometh down from God out of heaven and giveth life unto the world," is love, from which alone we can have real life in our spirits. The water which the Lord gives that becomes "a well of water springing up into everlasting life," is truth from the Lord, which not only quenches the thirst for knowledge, but also like water washes from defiling evils and makes the heart pure. We are momentarily dependent for true thoughts and good affec-