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guilty of obscene practices, wanton discourse, or lewd thoughts."[1]


And now let us turn to the consideration of the spiritual sense of this Commandment.

"By committing adultery, in the spiritual sense," says the New Church Doctrine, "is meant to adulterate the good of the Word, and to falsify its truth: and in the celestial sense, to deny the holiness of the Word, and to profane it. That this, also, is meant by committing adultery, has been hitherto unknown, because the spiritual sense of the Word has been heretofore concealed. But that this is the true meaning, in the Word, of committing adultery and whoredom, is very manifest from many passages. For instance, the following:—'Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see if ye can find a man that doeth judgment, that seeketh truth. When I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery' (Jer. v. 1, 7). 'I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in falsehood' (xxiii. 14)."[2] "Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations. Thou playedst the harlot, because of thy name, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by. Thou didst take off thy garments, and deckedst thy high places with divers colors, and playedst the harlot thereupon. Thou also hast taken thy fair jewels of my gold and my silver which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them.

  1. Doctrine of Sacred Scripture, n. 67.
  2. T. C. R., n. 314.