1038、“这是立约的记号”表示主在仁爱中同在的标志，这从“立约”和“立约的记号”的含义清楚可知。前面（创世记6:18和9:9，665-666，1023节）已说明，“立约”表示主在仁爱中的同在。“立约”是指主在爱和仁中的同在，这从立约的性质清楚看出来。所立的一切约都是为了结合，也就是说，为了让人们一起生活在友谊或爱中。这也是为何婚姻被称为约。主与人的结合只存在于爱和仁中，因为主是爱和怜悯本身。祂愿意拯救每个人，用祂的大能把他们都拉进天堂，也就是拉到祂自己那里。谁都能由此知道并得出结论：任何人若不通过主自己所是之物，也就是像祂一样行事，或与祂为一，换句话说，通过爱主作为回报，并爱邻如己，都不可能与主结合。结合唯独以这种方式实现；这就是立约的本质。当结合由此产生时，很明显，接下来就是主的同在。主的确与每个人同在，但这种同在是近是远，都取决于距离爱是近是远。
“立约”是主通过爱与人的结合，或也可说，主在爱和仁中与人的同在，故在圣言中，约本身被称为“平安的约”；因为“平安”表示主的国，主的国在于相爱，平安唯独在相爱中。如在以赛亚书：
大山可以挪开，小山可以迁移。但我的怜悯必不离开你，我平安的约也不迁移。这是怜恤你的耶和华说的。（以赛亚书54:10）
此处怜悯，也就是爱的属性，被称为“平安的约”。以西结书：
我必在他们之上立一牧人，祂必牧养他们，就是我的仆人大卫。祂必牧养他们，作他们的牧人。我必与他们立平安的约。（以西结书34:23，25）
此处“大卫”明显表示主；祂与重生之人的同在被描述为“祂必牧养他们”。
同一先知书：
我的仆人大卫必作王管理他们，他们众人只有一个牧人。我要与他们立平安的约，作为与他们的永约。我要赐福给他们，使他们增多，又在他们中间设立我的圣所，直到永远。我要作他们的神，他们要作我的子民。（以西结书37:24，26-27）
此处主同样由“大卫”来表示；爱由“在他们中间的圣所”来表示；主在爱中的同在和结合由被称为“平安的约”和“永约”的应许，即“我要作他们的神，他们要作我的子民”来表示。玛拉基书：
你们就知道我传这诫命给你们，使我的约可以与利未同在，这是万军之耶和华说的。我与他所立的是生命和平安的约，我将它们与敬畏一起赐给他，他就敬畏我。（玛拉基书2:4-5）
在至高意义上，“利未”表示主，由此表示拥有爱和仁的人；正因如此，与利未所立的“生命和平安的约”表示在爱和仁中。
在摩西五经，论到非尼哈：
看哪，我将我平安的约赐给他，这约要给他和他以后的种，作为永远当祭司职任的约。（民数记25:12-13）
此处“非尼哈”不是指非尼哈，而是指他所代表并表示爱和属爱之物的祭司职分，而该教会的所有祭司职分都表示爱和属爱之物。众所周知，非尼哈不会永远保留祭司职分。申命记：
耶和华你的神，祂是神，是信实的神，向爱祂、守祂诫命的人守约施怜悯，直到千代。（申命记7:9，12）
此处“约”明显表示主在爱中与人的同在，因为经上说“向爱祂、守祂诫命的人守约施怜悯”。
由于“立约”是主通过爱与人的结合，所以可推知，立约也通过属于爱的一切事物实现；这些事物就是信之真理，被称为诫命。一切诫命，事实上律法和先知，都基于这一条律法：爱主高于一切并爱邻如己，这从主的话清楚看出来（马太福音22:34-40；马可福音12:28-34）。这也是为何写有十诫的石版被称为“约版”。立约或结合因通过爱的律法或诫命实现，故也通过主引入犹太教会、被称为“法度”（testimonies）的社会法律实现，还通过主所吩咐、被称为“律例”的宗教仪式实现。这一切事物都被称为立约的律法，因为它们涉及爱和仁。如经上论到约西亚王说：
王站在柱旁，在耶和华面前立约，要全心全灵魂地跟在耶和华后面走，遵守祂的诫命、法度、律例，坚固这约言。（列王纪下23:3）
从这些事明显可知什么是“约”，约是内在的，因为主与人的结合是通过内在事物实现的，从来不是通过与内在事物分离的外在事物实现的。外在事物只是这些内在事物的形像和代表，如同人的行为是代表其思维和意愿的一种形像，又如同仁爱行为是存在于里面、在意图和心智中代表仁爱的一种形像。因此，犹太教会的一切仪式是代表主，因而代表爱和仁，以及源于这些的一切事物的一种形像。因此，立约或结合是通过人的内在事物实现的；外在事物只不过是立约的标志，事实上也被如此称呼。内在事物是实现立约或结合的手段，这是显而易见的，如耶利米书：
耶和华说，看哪，日子将到，我要与以色列家和犹大家立新约，不像我与他们的祖宗所立的约，因为他们背了我的约。但那些日子以后，我与以色列家所立的约乃是这样：我要将我的律法放在他们中间，写在他们心上。（耶利米书31:31-33）
这论及一个新教会。经上清楚说明，约本身是通过内在事物实现的，事实上是在良心里面立下的；律法被刻写在良心上，而良心的整个律法都是爱的律法，如前所述。
外在事物并不构成约，除非内在事物与它们结合，从而通过该结合与它们作为同一个原因行动，或说与它们一起朝同一个目的行动。但它们仅仅是“立约的记号”，是为了主可以通过它们，如同通过代表形像而被记念或想起，这一点从以下事实明显看出来：安息日和割礼被称为“立约的记号”。安息日被如此称呼，对此，我们在摩西五经中读到：
以色列人要守安息日，代代遵行安息日作为永远的约。这是我和以色列人之间永远的记号。（出埃及记31:16-17）
割礼也被称为“立约的记号”，这一点明显可见于摩西五经：
这就是你们当守的、在我与你并你以后的种之间所立的约：你们当中的所有男子都要受割礼。你们都要割去包皮的肉，这是我与你们之间立约的记号。（创世记17:10-11）
由于同样的原因，血也被称为“立约的血”（出埃及记24:7-8）。
外在宗教仪式之所以被称为“立约的记号”，主要是为了让人们可以通过它们回想起内在事物，也就是它们所表示的事物。犹太教会的一切宗教仪式并没有其它目的。因此，它们也被称为记号，有助于使人们想起内在事物；例如，将主要诫命系在手上，戴在前额的做法，如摩西五经中所说的：
你要用你全部的心、全部的灵魂和全部的力量爱耶和华你的神。你要把这些话绑在手上为记号，使它们如同你两眼之间的额饰。（申命记6:5，8；11:13，18）
此处“手”表示意愿，因为它表示能力，而能力是意愿的属性；“两眼之间的额饰”表示理解力；因此“记号”表示回想主要诫命或律法大纲，以便把它不断保持在意愿和思维中，也就是说，使主和爱可以存在于整个意愿和整个思维里面。这就是主，以及来自主而存在于天使中间的相爱的同在。至于这种不断同在及其性质，蒙主的神性怜悯，容后再述（1276-1277，6849，7926:2，9682节）。同样，在本节，经上说：“这是我在我与你们，并同你们在一起的一切活着的灵魂之间所立之约的记号，直到一个时代的世代；我把我的彩虹放在云中，这就可作我与地之间立约的记号了。”此处不是指其它记号，而是指表明主在仁爱中同在的记号，因而是指人对主的回想或记念。至于云中的彩虹如何成为记号和记念，或说象征和提醒，蒙主的神性怜悯，容后再述（1042节）。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]1038. The meaning of this is the sign of the pact as an indication of the presence of the Lord in neighborly love is established by the symbolism of a pact and of a sign of a pact. The symbolism of a pact as the presence of the Lord in neighborly love was illustrated above at Genesis 6:18 and earlier in the present chapter, at verse 9 [665-666, 1023].
The fact that a pact is the presence of the Lord in love and charity is evident from the nature of a pact. Every covenant exists to tie people together; that is, the goal is for people to live in mutual friendship, or in a state of love. This is why marriage too is called a compact or covenant.
The Lord cannot unite with us except in love and charity, because the Lord is love itself and mercy; he wants to save us all and draw us to heaven — that is, to himself — with a powerful force. So we can all see and conclude that no one could ever be united to the Lord except through that which is the Lord, or in other words, without doing as he does, or making common cause with him. To do this is to love the Lord in return and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is the only means of union. This is the most essential element of a compact. When union does grow out of it, then the Lord, of course, is present.
It is true that the Lord is actually present with every individual, but he is closer to or farther from us to the exact extent that we approach love or distance ourselves from it.
[2] Since a pact is the Lord's close connection with us through love or, to put it another way, is the presence of the Lord with us in love and charity, the Word calls the pact itself a pact of peace. This is because peace symbolizes the Lord's kingdom, and the Lord's kingdom consists of mutual love, which is the only thing that affords peace. In Isaiah, for instance:
"The mountains will withdraw and the hills recede, but my mercy will not withdraw from you, and my pact of peace will not recede," Jehovah has said, who shows you compassion. (Isaiah 54:10)
Mercy, which is a matter of love, is being called a pact of peace. In Ezekiel:
I will raise up over them a single shepherd (and he will pasture them): my servant David. He will pasture them, and he will serve them as shepherd, and I will cut a pact of peace with them. (Ezekiel 34:23, 25)
David obviously means the Lord, whose presence with a regenerate person is depicted in the words he will pasture them.
[3] In the same author:
My servant David will be monarch over them, and there will be a single shepherd for them all. And I will strike a pact of peace with them; it will be an eternal pact with them. And I will place them and make them multiply and put my sanctuary in their midst forever. And I will become their God, and they will become my people. (Ezekiel 37:24, 26-27)
Again David means the Lord. The sanctuary in their midst means love. The statement that he would become their God and that they would become his people means the Lord's presence and unity with us in love, that presence and unity being called a pact of peace and an eternal pact. In Malachi:
"You will know that I have sent you this commandment: that my compact should be with Levi," Jehovah Sabaoth{*1} has said. "My compact with him was one of life and peace; and I gave them to him along with fear, and he will fear me." (Malachi 2:4-5)
In the highest sense, Levi is the Lord, and as a result he is any person who has love and charity. So the compact of life and peace with Levi involves love and charity.
[4] In Moses, where he is speaking of Phinehas:
Here, now, I am giving him my pact of peace, and for him and for his seed after him it will be a pact of eternal priesthood. (Numbers 25:12-13)
Phinehas does not mean Phinehas but the priesthood that he represented, which symbolizes love in all its aspects, just as the whole priesthood of that religion did. Everyone realizes that Phinehas's priesthood was not eternal. In the same author:
Jehovah your God, he is God, a faithful God, keeping his pact and his mercy with those who love him and keep his commandments, to the thousandth generation. (Deuteronomy 7:9, 12)
The pact is quite explicitly the presence of the Lord with us in love, since the passage says it is with those who love him and keep his commandments.
[5] Since a pact is the Lord's close connection with us through love, it follows that it is also a connection through all the by-products of love, which consist of religious truth and are called commandments. All the commandments — and in fact the law and the prophets — are based on one solitary law, that we should love the Lord above all and our neighbor as ourselves. The Lord's words in Matthew 22:35-40 and Mark 12:28-34 make this clear. So the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written are called the tablets of the covenant [Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 15; Hebrews 9:4].
Since a pact or a close bond is achieved through the laws of love, or the commandments, such a bond was also achieved through societal laws that the Lord laid down for the Jewish religion, which are called testimonies. It was achieved through the Lord's requirements for religious ritual — called statutes — as well. All these rules are described as part of the pact, because they look to love and kindness as their goal. As we read of King Josiah:
The king stood by the pillar and struck a pact before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and with all his soul, to secure the words of the pact. (2 Kings 23:3)
[6] These considerations now indicate what a pact is and show that it is an inward thing, since internal ties — never external ties separately from internal ones — are what bind us to the Lord. External practices are only tokens or representations of what lies inside. Our actions, for example, are tokens representing our thoughts and intentions, while the charitable deeds we do are tokens representing the love we cherish for our neighbor in heart and mind. In the same way, all the rituals of the Jewish religion foreshadowed and represented the Lord, and as a result they provided an image and representation of love and charity and all the effects of both. So it is our inner attributes that make the pact and the union possible; outward attributes are merely signs of the pact, and this is also what they are called.
The fact that inner attributes make the pact and the union possible is plain to see. In Jeremiah, for example:
"Look! The days are coming," says Jehovah, "when I will strike a new pact with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah unlike the pact that I struck with their ancestors, because they nullified my pact. But this is the pact that I will strike with the house of Israel after these days: I will put my law in the midst of them, and upon their heart I will write it." (Jeremiah 31:31-32, 33)
This is about a new church. It says openly that the actual covenant itself depends on inner qualities and in fact on those present in a conscience that has written on it the law, which has entirely to do with love, as noted.
[7] External observances, again, are not the pact, unless deeper impulses are attached to them and consequently work together with them toward one and the same end, by being united to them. Externals are signs of the pact, rather, their purpose being to bring the Lord to mind as tokens representing him. Evidence for these things is the fact that the Sabbath and circumcision are called signs of the pact. The Sabbath is so designated in Moses:
The children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to make the Sabbath an eternal pact throughout their generations. This sign will exist forever between me and the children of Israel. (Exodus 31:16-17)
Circumcision receives the designation in the same author:
This is my pact, which you will keep, between me and you and your seed after you: that every male be circumcised to you. And you will circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it will serve as a sign of the pact between me and you. (Genesis 17:10-11)
Blood, for the same reason, is also called the blood of the covenant in Exodus 24:7-8.
[8] The main reason external rituals are called signs of the pact is that they serve to bring to mind inner attributes — that is, the entities they symbolize. None of the rituals of the Jewish religion had any other purpose. As a result, the aids they had to remind them of deeper realities were also called signs. An example is their practice of binding the first great commandment on their hand and in a box on their brow,{*2} as described in Moses:
You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your powers. And you shall bind these words as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as brow pieces between your eyes. (Deuteronomy 6:5, 8; 11:13, 18)
The hand symbolizes the will because it symbolizes strength, since strength belongs to the will. The brow pieces between the eyes symbolize the intellect. So the sign symbolizes remembering the first great commandment (which is the law in condensed form) in order to keep it constantly in the will and constantly in the thought. In other words, the goal is the presence of the Lord and of love in all our willing and all our thinking. This is how the Lord, and mutual love received from him, are present with angels. With the Lord's divine mercy, the nature of this continual presence will be discussed later [1276-1277, 6849, 7926:2, 9682].
Likewise here, where it says, "This is the sign of the pact that I make between me and you: My bow I have put in the cloud, and it will serve as a sign of the pact between me and the earth." No other sign is meant here than one indicating the presence of the Lord in neighborly love, and consequently it symbolizes recollection on our part.
How this sign — the bow in the cloud — served as an indication and reminder, though, will be told below [1042], with the Lord's divine mercy.
Footnotes:
{*1} On the name Jehovah Sabaoth ("Jehovah of the Legions"), see note 1 in 119. [Editors]
{*2} Swedenborg is referring here to the longstanding Jewish practice of wearing what are known as phylacteries (see Matthew 23:5), or tefillin. These are special boxes that contain four handwritten passages of the Hebrew Scriptures, each of which contains an injunction to bind the commandments in question to the hand and the forehead: Exodus 13:1-10; Exodus 13:11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; and Deuteronomy 11:13-21. The third of these passages contains what Jesus identified as the great commandment (Deuteronomy 6:5, which Swedenborg quotes just below in the main text; see Matthew 22:38). These boxes are attached to long straps. At certain times, especially during prayer, one of the boxes is tied to the nondominant arm and the other to the forehead. They are still to this day referred to as signs. See Encyclopaedia Judaica 2007, under "tefillin." [JSR]
Potts(1905-1910) 1038
1038. This is the sign of the covenant. That this signifies an indication of the presence of the Lord in charity, is evident from the signification of a "covenant" and of a "sign of a covenant." That a "covenant" signifies the presence of the Lord in charity, has been shown before (Gen. 6:18, and above in the present chapter, verse 9). That a "covenant" is the presence of the Lord in love and charity, is evident from the nature of a covenant. Every covenant is for the sake of conjunction, that is, for the sake of living in mutual friendship, or love. Marriage also is for this reason called a covenant. There is no conjunction of the Lord with man except in love and charity; for the Lord is love and mercy itself. He wills to save everyone and to draw him with mighty power to heaven, that is, to Himself. From this everyone may know and conclude that no one can ever be conjoined with the Lord except through that which He Himself is, that is, except by becoming like or making one with Him-in other words, by loving the Lord in return and loving the neighbor as himself. By this alone is the conjunction effected. This is the veriest essence of a covenant. When there is conjunction from this, it then follows manifestly that the Lord is present. There is indeed the very presence of the Lord with every man, but it is nearer or more remote exactly according to the approach to love or the distance from love. [2] Because the "covenant" is the conjunction of the Lord with man by love, or what is the same, the presence of the Lord with man in love and charity, it is called in the Word the "covenant of peace;" for "peace" signifies the kingdom of the Lord, and the kingdom of the Lord consists in mutual love, in which alone is peace. As in Isaiah:
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My mercy shall not depart from thee, neither shall My covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee (Isa. 54:10), where mercy, which is of love, is called a "covenant of peace." In Ezekiel:
I will raise up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd; and I will make with them a covenant of peace (Ezek. 34:23, 25), where by "David" is plainly meant the Lord; and His presence with the regenerate man is described by His feeding" them. [3] Again:
My servant David shall be king over them; and there shall be to them all one shepherd, and I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will set them, and will cause them to multiply, and will put My sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Ezek. 37:24, 26-27), where in like manner the Lord is meant by "David;" love, by "His sanctuary in the midst of them;" the presence and conjunction of the Lord in love, by "His being their God and by their being His people" which is called a "covenant of peace" and an "everlasting covenant." In Malachi:
Ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that My covenant might be with Levi, saith Jehovah of armies; My covenant was with him of lives and peace; and I gave them to him in fear, and he shall fear Me (Mal. 2:4-5). "Levi" in the supreme sense is the Lord, and hence the man who has love and charity, and therefore the covenant of lives and peace with Levi is in love and charity. [4] In Moses, speaking of Phinehas:
Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace; and it shall be unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an eternal priesthood (Num. 25:12-13), where by "Phinehas" is not meant Phinehas, but the priesthood which was represented by him, which signifies love and what is of love, as does all the priesthood of that church. Everyone knows that Phinehas did not have an eternal priesthood. Again:
Jehovah thy God, He is God; the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments, to the thousandth generation (Deut. 7:9, 12), where it is plain that the presence of the Lord with man in love is the "covenant" for it is said that He keepeth it with them that love Him and keep His commandments. [5] Since a "covenant" is the conjunction of the Lord with man by love, it follows that it is also by all things that pertain to love, which are the truths of faith, and are called precepts; for all precepts, indeed the Law and the Prophets, are founded on the one Law, to love the Lord above all things and the neighbor as oneself, as is evident from the words of the Lord (Matt. 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34). And therefore the tables on which were written the ten commandments, are called the "Tables of the Covenant." Since a covenant, or conjunction, is effected through the laws or precepts of love, it was effected also through the laws of society given by the Lord in the Jewish Church, which are called "testimonies;" and also through the rites of the church enjoined by the Lord, called "statutes." All these things are said to be of the "covenant" because they regard love and charity, as we read of Josiah the king:
The king stood upon the pillar, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep His commandments, and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all the heart and with all the soul, to establish the words of this covenant (2 Kings 23:3). [6] From these things it is now evident what a "covenant" is, and that the covenant is internal; for the conjunction of the Lord with man takes place by what is internal, and never by what is external separate from what is internal. External things are only types and representatives of internal, as the action of a man is a type representative of his thought and will; and as the work of charity is a type representative of the charity which is within, in the heart and mind. So all the rites of the Jewish Church were types representative of the Lord, consequently of love and charity, and of all things therefrom. Wherefore it is through the internals of man that a covenant and conjunction is made, and externals are only signs of the covenant, as indeed they are called. That a covenant and conjunction is made through internals is plainly evident, as in Jeremiah:
Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, forasmuch as they made vain My covenant but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days, saith Jehovah; I will put My law in their inward parts and write it on their heart (Jer. 31:31-33), where a new church is treated of. It is clearly stated that the veriest covenant is through the internals, and indeed in conscience on which the Law is inscribed, all of which is of love, as has been said. [7] That external things are not the "covenant" unless internal things are adjoined to them, and thus by union act as one and the same cause; but are only "signs" of the covenant by means of which as by representative types the Lord might be kept in remembrance, is evident from the fact that the Sabbath and circumcision are called "signs" of the covenant. That the Sabbath is so called, we read in Moses:
The sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant; it is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel eternally (Exod. 31:16-17). And that circumcision also is so called, in the same:
This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee; that every male be circumcised unto you; and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and you (Gen. 17:10-11). Hence also blood is called the "blood of the covenant" (Exod. 24:7-8). [8] External rites are called "signs of a covenant" for the reason chiefly that interior things may be kept in mind by them, that is, the things signified by them. All the rites of the Jewish Church were nothing else. And for this reason they were also called "signs" that the people might be reminded by them of interior things-as for instance, the binding of the chief commandment on the hand and on the forehead, as in Moses:
Thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might; and these words thou shalt bind for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes (Deut. 6:5, 8; 11:13, 18). Here "hand" signifies the will because it signifies power, for power is of the will; "frontlets between the eyes" signify the understanding; thus the "sign" signifies remembrance of the chief commandment, or of the Law in sum, that it may be continually in the will and in the thought, that is, that the presence of the Lord and of love may be in all the will and in all the thought. Such is the presence of the Lord and of mutual love from Him with the angels, which continual presence will be further described, by the Divine mercy of the Lord, hereafter. In like manner, in the present verse its being said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you: I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth" signifies no other sign than an indication of the presence of the Lord in charity, thus the remembrance of Him in man. But how there is thence, or from the bow in the cloud, a sign and remembrance, will be told, of the Lord's Divine mercy, in what follows.
Elliott(1983-1999) 1038
1038. That 'this is the sign of the covenant' means a token of the Lord's presence in charity is clear from the meaning of 'a covenant' and of 'the sign of a covenant'. That the covenant means the Lord's presence in charity has been shown already at Chapter 6:18, and above at verse 9 of the present chapter; and that a covenant is the Lord's presence in love and charity is clear from the very nature of a covenant. The purpose of any covenant is conjunction, that is to say, its purpose is that people may live together in friendship or in love. This also is why marriage is called a covenant. The Lord's conjunction with man does not exist except in love and charity, for the Lord is love itself and mercy. He wills to save everyone and by His mighty power to draw them towards heaven, that is, towards Himself. From this anyone may know and conclude that it is impossible for anybody to be joined to the Lord except by means of that which He Himself is, that is, except by acting like Him, or becoming one with Him - that is to say, by loving the Lord in return, and loving the neighbour as oneself. In this way alone is conjunction brought about; this constitutes the very essence of a covenant. When conjunction results from this, it quite plainly follows that the Lord is present. The Lord is indeed present with each individual, but that presence is closer or more remote, all depending on how near the person is to love or distant from it.
[2] Since 'the covenant' is the conjunction of the Lord with man by means of love, or what amounts to the same, the Lord's presence with man in love and charity, the covenant itself is called in the Word 'a covenant of peace', for 'peace' means the Lord's kingdom, and the Lord's kingdom consists in mutual love, in which alone peace resides, as is said in Isaiah,
The mountains will depart and the hills be removed, but My mercy will not depart from you, and the covenant of My peace will not be removed, said Jehovah, the One who takes pity on you. Isa. 54:10. Here mercy, which is an attribute of love, is called 'a covenant of peace'. In Ezekiel,
I will raise up over them one shepherd, and He will pasture them - My servant David. He will pasture them and He will be a shepherd to them. And I will make with them a covenant of peace. Ezek. 34:23, 25.
Here 'David' is plainly used to mean the Lord, and His presence with a regenerate person is described by the words 'He will pasture them'.
[3] In the same prophet,
My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. And I will make with them a covenant of peace; it will be an eternal covenant with them. And I will blessa them and cause them to multiply, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst for evermore. And I will be their God and they will be My people. Ezek. 37:14, 16, 17.
Here similarly the Lord is meant by David. Love is meant by the 'sanctuary in their midst', the Lord's presence and conjunction in love by the promise that 'He will be their God, and they will be His people', which is called 'a covenant of peace' and 'an eternal covenant'. In Malachi,
You will know that I have sent this command to you, that it may be My covenant with Levi, said Jehovah Zebaoth. My covenant was with him, [a covenant] of lifeb and peace, and I have given them to him in fear, and he will fear Me. Mal. 2:4, 5.
In the highest sense 'Levi' means the Lord, and from this the person who has love and charity; and this being so 'a covenant of life' and peace with Levi' means in love and charity.
[4] In Moses, in reference to Phinehas,
Behold, I am giving to him My covenant of peace, and it will be to him and his seed after him a covenant of eternal priesthood. Num. 25:12, 13.
Here 'Phinehas' is not used to mean Phinehas but the priesthood which he represented and which means love and what belongs to love, as does the entire priesthood of that Church. Everyone knows that the priesthood did not remain with Phinehas for ever. In the same author,
Jehovah your God is God Himself, a faithful God who keeps a covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and who keep His commandments, to the thousandth generation. Deut. 7:9, 12.
Here the Lord's presence with man in love is clearly meant by 'the covenant', for it is said to be 'with those who love Him and keep His commandments'.
[5] because the covenant is the conjunction of the Lord with man by means of love, it follows that it is also achieved by means of all the things allied to love, which are the truths of faith and are called commandments. For all the commandments, indeed the Law and the Prophets, are based on that single law that men ought to love the Lord above all things and the neighbour as themselves. This is clear from the Lord's words in Matt. 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-34. This is also why the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written are called 'the tablets of the covenant'. Since a covenant or conjunction is achieved by means of the laws or commandments of love it was also achieved by means of the social laws introduced by the Lord into the Jewish Church, which are called 'testimonies', as well as by the religious observances commanded by the Lord, which are called 'statutes'. All of these are called [laws] of the covenant because they have regard to love and charity. As is said of King Josiah,
The king stood upon the pillar, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep His commandments, and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to establish the words of the covenant. 1 Kings 23:7.
[6] From these references it is now clear what a covenant is, and that the covenant is internal, for the conjunction of the Lord with man is achieved by means of internal things, and never by means of external things separated from internal. External things are merely images and representatives of those that are internal, as the action of a person is an image representative of his thought and will, and as a charitable act is an image representative of charity present within, in intention and mind. Thus all the religious observances of the Jewish Church were images representative of the Lord, and so of love and charity, and of all things deriving from these. It is by means of the internal things of a person therefore that the covenant or conjunction is achieved. External things are no more than signs of the covenant, which also is what they are called. That internal things are the means by which the covenant or conjunction is achieved is quite clear, as in Jeremiah,
Behold, the days are coming, says Jehovah, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers, for they rendered My covenant invalid. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put My law in the midst of them and will write it on their hearts. Jer. 31:31-33.
This refers to a new Church. It is plainly stated that the covenant itself is achieved by means of internal things, and indeed within conscience on which the Law is written, the whole of which Law, as stated, is that of love.
[7] That external things do not constitute the covenant unless internal things are joined to them and so through that union act as one and the same cause, but are merely 'signs of the covenant' by means of which, as by representative images, the Lord might be called to mind, is clear from the fact that the sabbath and circumcision are called 'signs' of the covenant. That the sabbath is so called is clear in Moses,
The children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout their generations, an eternal covenant. Between Me and the children of Israel this is a sign eternally. Exod. 31:16, 17.
And that circumcision is called 'a sign of the covenant' is clear in the same author,
This is My covenant which you shall keep between Me and you and your seed after you. Every male among you is to be circumcised. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. Gen. 17:10, 11.
For the same reason also blood is called 'the blood of the covenant', Exod. 24:7, 8.
[8] The chief reason why external religious ceremonies were called signs of the covenant was so that from them people might call interior things to mind, that is, the things meant by them. All the religious observances of the Jewish Church were nothing else. For this reason they were also called signs that would serve to remind the people of interior things - for example, the practice of binding the chief commandment on the hand and of wearing frontlets, as stated in Moses,
You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. And you shall bind these words as n sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. Deut. 6:5, 8; 11:13, 18.
Because it means power 'the hand' here means the will, for power is an attribute of the will; while 'frontlets between the eyes' means the understanding. Thus 'a sign' means calling to mind the chief commandment, or epitome of the Law, that it may be constantly in the will and constantly in the thought, that is, that the Lord and love may be present within the whole will and the whole thought. Such is the presence of the Lord and from Him of mutual love existing with angels. That constant presence and the nature of it will in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed later on. And in like manner here the statement, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I give between Me and you; I have given My bow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of the covenant', means no other sign than a token of the Lord's presence in charity, and so man's remembrance of Him. But in what way the bow in the cloud provides that token and so remembrance will in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed later on.
Latin(1748-1756) 1038
1038. 'Hoc signum foederis': quod significet indicium praesentiae Domini in charitate, constat a significatione 'foederis et signi foederis'; quod foedus significet praesentiam Domini in charitate, ostensum est prius cap. vi 18, et supra in hoc capite ad vers. 9. Quod foedus sit praesentia Domini in amore et charitate, constat a natura foederis; omne foedus est conjunctionis causa, ut nempe mutuo vivant in amicitia aut in amore; conjugium inde quoque appellatur foedus: conjunctio Domini cum homine non datur nisi in amore et charitate, nam Dominus est Ipse amor, et misericordia; unumquemvis salvare vult, et vi forti ad caelum, hoc est, ad se attrahere; inde quisque scire et concludere potest quod nusquam aliquis conjungi possit cum Domino nisi per illud quod Ipse est, hoc est, nisi simile faciat, aut unum faciat cum Ipso, hoc est, ut (x)redamet Dominum, et amet proximum sicut se; per haec solum fit conjunctio; haec est ipsissima essentia foederis; quando conjunctio inde, tunc sequitur manifeste quod Dominus praesens sit: ipsa praesentia Domini est quidem apud omnem hominem sed est propior et remotior, prorsus secundum gradus ad amorem et distantiam ab amore. [2] Quia foedus est conjunctio Domini cum homine per amorem, seu quod idem est, est praesentia Domini apud hominem in amore et charitate, ipsum foedus appellatur in Verbo 'foedus pacis,' nam 'pax' significat regnum Domini, et regnum Domini consistit in amore mutuo, in quo solo est pax; ut apud Esaiam, Montes recedent et colles dimovebuntur, et misericordia Mea a tecum non recedet, et foedus pacis Meae non dimovebitur, dixit Miserator tuus Jehovah, liv 10;ubi misericordia, quae est amoris, dicitur 'foedus pacis': apud Ezechielem, Suscitabo super illos pastorem unum, et pascet illos, servum Meum Davidem; Hic pascet eos, et Hic erit illis in pastorem,... et excidam illis foedus pacis, xxxiv 23, 25;
ubi per 'Davidem' manifeste intelligitur Dominus; Ipsius praesentia apud hominem regeneratum describitur per 'quod pascet eos': [3] apud eundem, Servus Meus David, rex super illos, et pastor unus erit omnibus illis;... et pangam illis foedus pacis, foedus aeternitatis erit cum illis; et dabo illos, et multiplicari faciam illos, et ponam sanctuarium Meum in medio illorum in aeternum;... et ero illis in Deum, et illi erunt Mihi in populum, xxxvii 24, 26, 27;
ubi similiter Dominus per 'Davidem' intelligitur; amor per 'sanctuarium in medio illorum,' praesentia et conjunctio Domini in amore per quod 'erit illis in Deum,' et illi erunt Ipsi in populum,' quae appellatur 'foedus pacis, et foedus aeternitatis': apud Malachiam, Cognoscetis quod miserim ad vos praeceptum hoc, ut sit foedus Meum cum Levi, dixit Jehovah Zebaoth, foedus Meum fuit cum illo, vitarum et pacis, et dedi illa illi timore, et timebit Me, ii 4, 5;
'Levi' in supremo sensu est Dominus, et inde homo cui amor et charitas, quare 'foedus vitarum et pacis cum Levi' est in amore et charitate: apud Mosen ubi de Pinhaso, [4] Ecce Ego dans illi foedus Meum pacis, et erit illi et semini illius post illum foedus sacerdotii aeterni, Num. xxv 12, 13;
ubi per 'Pinhasum' non intelligitur Pinhasus sed sacerdotium quod per eum repraesentabatur, quod significat amorem et quae amoris sunt, sicut omne sacerdotium istius Ecclesiae; quisque novit quod Pinhaso non fuit sacerdotium aeternum: apud eundem, Jehovah Deus tuus, Ipse Deus, Deus fidelis, custodiens foedus et misericordiam amantibus Ipsum, et custodientibus praecepta Ipsius, millesimae generationi, Deut. vii 9, 12;
ubi manifeste, quod praesentia Domini apud hominem in amore sit 'foedus,' nam dicitur quod sit 'amantibus Ipsum, et custodientibus praecepta.' [5] Quia foedus est conjunctio Domini cum homine per amorem, sequitur quod quoque sit per omnia quae sunt amoris, quae sunt vera fidei et appellantur praecepta; omnia enim praecepta, immo Lex et Prophetae, fundantur in unica lege ut ament Dominum supra omnia et proximum sicut semet, ut constat a Domini verbis, Matth. xxii 34-39, Marc. xii 28-35, quare etiam tabulae super quibus decem praecepta scripta sunt, appellantur 'tabulae foederis': quia foedus aut conjunctio est per amoris leges seu praecepta, etiam fuit per leges societatis in Ecclesia Judaica latas a Domino quae vocantur 'testimonia'; tum quoque per ritus Ecclesiae a Domino mandatos qui vocantur 'statuta'; omnia haec vocantur foederis quia spectant amorem et charitatem: sicut legitur de Joshia rege, Stetit rex super columna {1}, et pepigit foedus coram Jehovah, ad eundum post Jehovam, et ad custodiendum praecepta Ipsius, et testimonia Ipsius, et statuta Ipsius ex toto corde, et ex tota anima, ad stabiliendum verba foederis, 2 Reg. xxiii 3. [6] Ex his nunc constat quid est foedus, et quod foedus sit internum, nam conjunctio Domini cum homine fit per interna, nusquam per externa separata ab internis; externa sunt modo typi et repraesentativa internorum, sicut actio hominis est typus repraesentativus ejus cogitationis et voluntatis, et sicut opus charitatis est typus repraesentativus charitatis quae intus in animo et mente; ita omnes ritus Ecclesiae Judaicae erant typi repraesentativi Domini, proinde amoris et charitatis et omnium quae inde; quare per interna hominis fit foedus et conjunctio; externa sunt modo signa foederis, sicut etiam appellantur; quod per interna fiat foedus aut conjunctio, constat manifeste; ut apud Jeremiam, Ecce dies venientes, dictum Jehovae, et pangam cum domo Israelis, et cum domo Jehudae, foedus novum, non sicut foedus quod pepigi cum patribus eorum,.... quia ii irritum reddiderunt foedus Meum;... sed hoc foedus quod pangam cum domo Israelis post dies hos,... dabo legem Meam in medio eorum, et super cor eorum scribam illam, xxxi 31-33;
ubi de nova Ecclesia; clare dicitur quod ipsissimum foedus sit per interna, et quidem in conscientia cui inscribitur lex, quae omnis est amoris, ut dictum. [7] Quod externa non sint foedus nisi iis interna adjuncta sint, et sic unam eandemque causam per unionem agant, sed quod sint 'signa foederis,' ut per illa sicut per typos repraesentativos recordarentur Domini, constat ex eo quod sabbatum et circumcisio vocentur 'signa foederis'; quod sabbatum, apud Mosen, Custodient filii Israelis sabbatum, ad faciendum sabbatum, in generationes suas, foedus aeternum; inter Me et inter filios Israelis signum hoc in aeternum, Exod. xxxi 16, 17;
et quod circumcisio, apud eundem, Hoc foedus Meum, quod custodietis inter Me et inter vos, et inter semen tuum post te; circumcidi vobis omnem masculum: et circumcidetis carnem praeputii vestri, et erit in signum foederis inter Me et inter vos, Gen. xvii 10, 11. Sanguis inde quoque appellatur 'sanguis foederis', Exod. xxiv 7, 8. [8] Externi ritus cumprimis inde dicti sunt signa foederis ut ex illis recordarentur interiorum, hoc est, illarum rerum quas significabant; omnes ritus Ecclesiae Judaicae non aliud erant; quare etiam illa appellabantur signa, quae suppeditarent illis recordationem interiorum, sicut quod primarium praeceptum alligarent super manu et ad frontalia, ut apud Mosen, Amabis Jehovam Deum tuum, ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex omnibus viribus tuis:... et alligabis haec verba in signum super manu tua, et erunt in frontalia inter oculos tuos, Deut. vi 5, 8; xi 13, 18;
ubi 'manus' significat voluntatem quia potentiam, nam potentia est voluntatis, 'frontalia inter oculos' (x)significant intellectum, ita signum recordationem primarii praecepti, seu legis in summa, ut continue sit in voluntate et continue in cogitatione, hoc est, ut sit praesentia Domini et amoris in omni voluntate et in omni cogitatione; talis est praesentia Domini et ab Ipso amoris mutui apud angelos, de qua continua praesentia, qualis sit, ex Divina Domini Misericordia, in sequentibus dicetur. Similiter hic, quod dicatur 'hoc signum foederis, quod ego do inter Me et inter vos, arcum Meum dedi in nube, et erit in signum foederis inter Me et inter terram' significat signum non aliud quam indicium praesentiae Domini in charitate, ita recordationem apud hominem: sed quomodo inde, seu ex arcu in nube, indicium et recordatio, in sequentibus, ex Divina Domini Misericordia, dicetur. @1 Heb. [ ] ('ammud)='column,' but also 'platform.'$