Heavenly Doctrine (Chadwick) n. 125

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125. A holy external is like this kind of piety, and consists especially in a person regarding the whole of Divine worship as consisting in holy behaviour when he attends churches. But there is no holiness on a person's part in this, unless his internal is holy. For a person's external is such as his internal is, since the external proceeds from the internal like action from his spirit. So a holy external without a holy internal is natural and not spiritual. It is therefore possible for the evil to exhibit it equally with the good; and those who make it the whole of their worship are for the most part empty, devoid, that is, of any kind of knowledge of good and truth. Yet the various kinds of good and truth are the really holy things, which ought to be known, believed and loved, because they are from the Deity and have divinity in them. Internal holiness is loving good and truth for their own sakes, and justice and honesty for their own sakes. The more a person so loves these, the more spiritual he is, and so is his worship, for he wishes the more to know them and do them. The less a person so loves them, the more natural he is, and so is his worship, and the less he wishes to know them and do them. External worship without internal can be compared with living by breathing without the heart beating, but external worship which comes from the internal can be compared with living by breathing combined with the heart beating.


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