777. [verse 13] 'And cinnamon and incenses and ointment (pigmentum) and frankincense' signifies that they no longer have a worship out of spiritual goods and truths because they do not have anything inwardly in the worship that corresponds to the things named above. In the preceding verse [the Word] treats of all the things that are of the doctrine of the Church, but in this verse it treats of all those that are of the Church's worship. The things that are of the doctrine are dealt with first and those that are of the worship follow, because the quality of the worship is derived from the goods and truths of the doctrine; for worship is nothing but an external act in which the internal things that are of doctrine should be. Without these worship is without its essence, life, and soul. Now because all the things that are of the doctrine relate to the goods that are of love and charity and to the truths that are of wisdom and faith, and those goods and truths are celestial, spiritual and natural in accordance with their degrees of order, this also is the case with all things of the worship. And because in the preceding verse the spiritual things of the doctrine are named in the first place, so also here are the spiritual things of worship, these being 'cinnamon', incenses', 'ointment' and frankincense'. And the celestial things of the worship, which are 'wine', 'oil', 'fine flour' and 'wheat' are named in the second place; and in the third place the natural things of the worship are named, these being' beasts of burden' and 'sheep'. That all those goods and truths of the worship will be derived from the Word is signified by [its being said] that they are 'of horses', 'of carriages', 'of bodies' and 'of the souls of men'. This is the series of the things in the spiritual sense in this verse. But by all the things that have been enumerated in this verse the like is understood as by those that have been enumerated in the preceding verse, that is, that those goods and truths are not with them because they do not have with themselves such things as correspond to them. This is plain from the things that precede where it states that the city Babylon shall be burnt up with fire and no one shall buy her merchandise any more (vers. 8-11); also from those that follow where it states that all things fat and splendid have departed from her and shall not be found any more (verse 14), and that they have been devastated (vers. 16, 19). [2] But something shall now be said about the things that have been named, which are 'cinnamon', 'incenses', 'ointment' and 'frankincense'. These are named because they are the kind of things by means of which incense-offerings used to be made. That by 'incense-offerings' is signified worship of the Lord out of spiritual goods and truths may be seen above (n. 277, 392); and that the incense-offerings were pleasing because they were [composed] of fragrant [odours] that were corresponding (n. 394). All the fragrant things by means of which it was prepared are understood by 'cinnamon', 'incenses' and 'ointment', and their essential quality by 'frankincense'. This is plain from the recital of the spices of which it was made up, in Moses:-
Jehovah said unto Moses, Take unto thee spices, stacte, onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense; and thou shalt make it an incense, an ointment, the work of a perfumer (pigmentum, opus pigmentarii), salted, pure, holy Exod. xxx 34-37.
The incense-offering was made out of these things, by which as has been stated was signified worship out of spiritual goods and truths. 'Cinnamon' is named here in place of all the spices there. But what these spices severally signify in the spiritual sense can be seen in ARCANA CAELESTIA on Exodus, where [the significations] have been expounded one by one.