The Tree by the Waters and the Wind of the Spirit

The good has come, calling the south wind. And observe the cause: 'Blow through my garden and let my fragrances flow,' which the north wind does not do. And he has used more natural names; for he said 'cold wind' for the north. And the coldness closes the pores of the trees, which are called seeds, so that the parts remain inside.

But if the warm south wind blows through the garden of this soul—for the garden is according to the soul—the pores are thinned, that is, the concepts, since the fragrances are the sweet thoughts. Therefore he says this: 'Where the wood falls, there it will remain.' If the south wind blows through the soul, the fragrances flow, and where the sweet ones are, they fall.

Instead of asking, 'is there not still a transfer?', he speaks of an immediate falling, as if I say: 'All the nations will stand before the coming Savior king, to separate the goats from the sheep; and he will set the sheep on the right, but the goats from the left' (Matthew 25:32). So, 'where it fell, it remained'—the goat from the left, the sheep on the right?—Not so, if one hears the goats: 'Go into the eternal fire' (Matthew 25:41). He does not say that they will always remain there, nor does he say that those called into the kingdom will always remain there and not move into greater and super-ascended and super-cosmic places, to reach that glory which the Savior had before the world (John 17:5).

And he says this: 'Where it falls, there it will remain,' as if he says, like the one making a distinction: if it is earnest, it will remain in virtue; if it is trivial, in wickedness. And this is not doubtful, but he shows what follows; even if he spoke doubtfully, it was because of the turning of the will; but he did not speak doubtfully. Furthermore, does the 'wood' lie in another scripture? The one blessed for not having settled in the counsel of the ungodly, nor having stood...

He says that one shall not walk in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of the ungodly, but shall be like a tree planted by the outlets of the waters. Then he brings forth a little more: 'and all that he does shall be prosperous,' showing that he speaks concerning a man; for it is not in the power of a plant to 'do' and to 'be prosperous.' And it is brought forward: 'not thus are the ungodly, not thus,' like the tree. And again in Jeremiah it is said: 'Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord; and he shall be like a tree planted by the waters' (Jeremiah 17:7-8), and he calls it 'blessed' by the Lord. And again in the Psalms you have: 'Then all the trees of the forest shall rejoice before the face of the Lord' (Psalm 97:8).

Observing the wind, he does not sow, and seeing in the clouds, he does not reap, in which there is no knowing what is the way of the Spirit. And it is true toward the word, for when the strong 'wind' scatters the sown seed and it does not enter into the furrows of the earth as it ought. And as for an illustration, the 'wind' is often taken regarding an uncertain matter; for it has been said that 'they are carried by every wind.' If you 'observe' this 'wind,' you 'will not sow,' but when it ceases, when there is great clarity and calm; that is, just as the soul is carried about here and there by passions, it is not able to 'sow in tears' so that 'you may reap in joy' (Psalm 126:5), it is not able to 'sow into righteousness.' Therefore, 'observe' the 'wind.'

And it is possible, and indeed it is possible, for 'observing' to be used instead of 'watching closely.' The word is also taken regarding this, sometimes regarding a guard, and sometimes regarding an observation. When he says that 'the sinner will observe the righteous' and 'seeks to kill him,' he is careful, as an archer would observe, which limb of the opposing one is bare, so that he might send the arrow there. But when he says 'you will preserve us,' instead of 'you will protect us.'