AC.587, 창6:6, '땅 위에 사람 지으셨음을 한탄하사' (AC.586a-590)

6절, 땅 위에 사람 지으셨음을 한탄하사 마음에 근심하시고 And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

 

587

That it repented Jehovah that he made man on the earth signifies mercy, and that “he grieved at the heart” has a like signification, is evident from this, that Jehovah never repents, because he foresees all things from eternity both in general and in particular; and when he made man, that is, created him anew, and perfected him till he became celestial, he also foresaw that in process of time he would become such as is here described, and because he foresaw this he could not repent. This appears plainly from what Samuel said:

 

이스라엘의 지존자는 거짓이나 변개함이 없으시니 그는 사람이 아니시므로 결코 변개하지 않으심이니이다 하니 (삼상15:29) The invincible one of Israel doth not lie, nor repent, for he is not a man that he should repent. (1 Sam. 15:29)

 

And in Moses:

 

하나님은 사람이 아니시니 거짓말을 하지 않으시고 인생이 아니시니 후회가 없으시도다 어찌 그 말씀하신 바를 행하지 않으시며 하신 말씀을 실행하지 않으시랴 (민23:19) God is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man that he should repent; hath he said, and shall he not do? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Num. 23:19)

 

But to “repent” signifies to be merciful. The mercy of Jehovah, or of the Lord, includes everything that is done by the Lord toward mankind, who are in such a state that the Lord pities them, each one according to his state; thus he pities the state of him whom he permits to be punished, and pities him also to whom he grants the enjoyment of good; it is of mercy to be punished, because mercy turns all the evil of punishment into good; and it is of mercy to grant the enjoyment of good, because no one merits anything that is good; for all mankind are evil, and of himself everyone would rush into hell, wherefore it is of mercy that he is delivered thence; nor is it anything but mercy, inasmuch as he has need of no man. Mercy has its name from the fact that it delivers man from miseries1 and from hell; thus it is called mercy in respect to mankind, because they are in such a state of misery, and it is the effect of love toward them all, because all are so.