666、“约”只表示重生和构成重生的事物。这从圣言的许多地方清楚可知，其中主自己就被称为“约”，因为唯独祂使人重生，并被重生之人仰望，是爱与信的全部中的全部。主是约本身，这一点清楚可见于以赛亚书：
我耶和华以公义召你，必搀扶你的手，保守你，使你作人民的约，作列族的光。（以赛亚书42:6）
此处“约”表示主，“列族的光”是指信。这一点还可见于以赛亚书49:6，8。玛拉基书：
看哪，我要差遣我的使者，你们所寻求的主，就是你们所仰慕的立约的使者，必忽然进入祂的殿；看哪，祂快要来到；祂来的日子，谁受得了呢？（玛拉基书3:1-2）
此处主被称为“立约的使者”。安息日被称为永远的约（出埃及记31:16），因为它表示主自己，还表示被祂重生的属天人。
主既是约本身，那么显而易见，构成约的，是将一个人与主联结起来的一切，也就是说，是爱和信，以及属于爱和信的事物。事实上，这些事物是主的，主在它们里面，故约本身存在于这些事物中，就在它们被接受的地方。这些事物只存在于一个重生之人身上，对他来说，凡属于重生者或主之物，都构成约，或就是约。如以赛亚书：
我的怜悯必不离开你，我平安的约也不迁移。（以赛亚书54:10）
“怜悯”和“平安的约”表示主和属于主的事物。同一先知书：
你们要侧耳，要到我这里来；你们要听，使你们的灵魂得以存活，我必与你们立永约，就是应许大卫那可靠的怜悯。看，我已立祂作万民的见证，为万民的领袖和立法者。（以赛亚书55:3-4）
此处“大卫”表示主；“永约”存在于那些属于主的事物中并通过这些事物起作用，“到祂这里来，要听，使你们的灵魂得以存活”就表示这些事物。
耶利米书：
我必赐给他们一心一道，好叫他们尽一切日子敬畏我，使他们和他们以后的子孙得福乐。我要与他们立永远的约，要施恩给他们，绝不转离，又要把对我的敬畏放在他们心里。（耶利米书32:39-40）
这论及那些将要重生的人，以及属于他们的事物，即“一心一道”，就是仁与信，仁与信属于主，因而属于约。同一先知书：
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；我要作他们的神，他们要作我的子民。（耶利米书31:31-33）
此处清楚解释了“约”的含义，即：正是对主的爱和信将与要重生的人同在。
在耶利米书（33:20），爱被称为白日立的约，信被称为黑夜立的约。以西结书：
我耶和华必作他们的神，我的仆人大卫必在他们中间作首领；我必与他们立平安的约，使邪恶的野兽从地上灭绝，他们就必在旷野中安居，在森林里安眠。（以西结书34:24-25）
此处明显论述重生。“大卫”表示主。同一先知书：
大卫必作他们的首领，直到永远。我要与他们立平安的约，作为与他们的永约。我要在他们中间设立我的圣所，直到永远。（以西结书37:25-26）
此处同样论述重生。“大卫”和“圣所”表示主。又：
我与你立约，你便属于我。并且我用水洗你，从你身上洗净你的血，又用油抹你。（以西结书16:8-9）
这明显表示重生。何西阿书：
当那日，我必为他们与田野的野兽和空中的飞鸟，并土地上的爬行物立约。（何西阿书2:18）
这表示重生；“田野的野兽”表示意愿的事物；“空中的飞鸟”表示理解力的事物。诗篇：
祂向祂的百姓施行救赎，命定祂的约，直到永远。（诗篇111:9）
这也表示重生。它被称为“约”，是因为它是被赐予并接受之物。
然而，论到那些没有重生，或也可说，使敬拜专注于外在事物，立起并崇拜他们自己和他们所渴望并思想的一切，仿佛它们是神的人，经上说，他们背了约，因为他们与主分离。如耶利米书：
他们离弃了耶和华他们神的约，事奉敬拜别神。（耶利米书22:9）
摩西五经：
若有人去事奉别神，或拜日头，或拜月亮，或拜天象，犯了约，就用石头打死（申命记17:2等）
“日头”表示自我之爱，“月亮”表示虚假的假设，“天象”表示虚假本身。由此清楚可知“约柜”表示什么，它包含证词或约，就是主自己；并清楚可知“约书”也表示主自己（出埃及记24:4-7；34:27；申命记4:13，23）；同样清楚可知“立约的血”（出埃及记24:6，8）表示主自己，唯独主是重生者。因此，“约”就是重生本身。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]666. The fact that a pact means nothing else than rebirth with all it entails can be seen from numerous passages in the Word that call the Lord himself a covenant [or pact]. The term is applied to him because he is the only one to regenerate us and the only one to whom the reborn individual looks. He is also the all-in-all of love and faith.
The fact that the Lord is the pact itself can be seen in Isaiah:
I, Jehovah, have called you in justice and am holding your hand and guarding you; and I will give you as a pact with the people, as a light for the nations. (Isaiah 42:6)
The pact stands for the Lord, while the light for the nations means faith. Isaiah 49:6, 8 has a similar message. In Malachi:
Watch: I am sending my angel, and suddenly to his Temple will come the Lord, whom you are seeking, and the angel of the covenant, whom you desire. Watch: He is coming! Who can endure the day of his coming? (Malachi 3:1-2)
In this passage the Lord is called the angel of the covenant. The Sabbath is referred to as an eternal pact in Exodus 31:16 because it symbolizes the Lord. It also symbolizes us when he has regenerated us to the point of being heavenly.
[2] As the Lord is the pact itself, we can conclude that everything binding us to the Lord is part of the contract. Love and faith, then, are part of it, as is everything that comes of love and faith. These things are the Lord's, and the Lord is in them. Consequently the covenant itself is in those things wherever they are received. And they are not received except in one who has been reborn. Everything in a person reborn that belongs to the Regenerator — the Lord — is part of the compact or, in other words, is the compact. In Isaiah, for example:
My mercy will not withdraw from you, and the compact of my peace will not recede. (Isaiah 54:10)
The mercy and the compact of peace are the Lord and everything that is his. In the same author:
Bend your ear and come to me; listen and let your soul live, and I will strike with you an eternal pact — the reliable mercies [that I showed] to David. Here, now, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and lawgiver for the nations. (Isaiah 55:3-4)
David stands for the Lord. The eternal pact consists in attributes of the Lord's and is fulfilled by means of them. These are the things meant by going to him and listening so that our souls may live.
[3] In Jeremiah:
I will give them one heart and one way, to fear me every day, with good result to them and to their children after them. And I will strike an eternal pact with them, [pledging] that I will not turn away from doing good to them; and fear of me I will put into their heart. (Jeremiah 32:39-40)
These words stand for people who are being reborn. They stand also for qualities in the person who has been reborn, those qualities being the one heart and one way. One heart and one way in turn are charity and faith, which are the Lord's and so are part of the compact. In the same author:
"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, and I will become their God, and they will become my people." (Jeremiah 31:31-32, 33)
This explains openly what a covenant is: love for the Lord and faith in him as adopted by one who is regenerating.
[4] The same author calls love a compact with the day and faith a compact with the night (Jeremiah 33:20). In Ezekiel:
I, Jehovah, will become their God, and my servant David will be chief in their midst. And I will strike a pact of peace with them and bring an end on the earth to the evil wild animal; and they will live securely in the wilderness and sleep in forests. (Ezekiel 34:24-25)
This is obviously about regeneration. David stands for the Lord. In the same author:
David will be chief over them forever. I will strike a pact of peace with them; it will be an eternal pact with them. I will put my sanctuary in their midst forever. (Ezekiel 37:25-26)
Again this is about rebirth. David and the sanctuary stand for the Lord. In the same author:
I entered into a pact with you, and you were mine; and I washed you with water and cleaned your blood off you and anointed you with oil. (Ezekiel 16:8-9, 11)
Plainly this is about rebirth. In Hosea:
I will strike a pact with them on that day — with the wild animal of the field, and with the bird in the heavens and the creeping animal of the earth. (Hosea 2:18)
This stands for regeneration. The wild animal of the field stands for what the will holds, the bird in the heavens for what the intellect holds. In David:
He has sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. (Psalms 111:9)
This stands for rebirth. It is called a covenant or contract because it is given and received.
[5] There are some, however, who do not regenerate. To put it another way, there are some who consider the outward show of worship to be worship, and who value and revere themselves, their own wishes, and their own thoughts as gods. Because they alienate themselves from the Lord, they are portrayed as nullifying the compact. In Jeremiah, for instance:
They abandoned the compact of Jehovah their God and bowed down to other gods and served them. (Jeremiah 22:9)
In Moses:
Whoever goes against the compact by serving other gods — the sun, the moon, the whole army of the heavens — will be stoned. (Deuteronomy 17:2 and following verses)
The sun stands for self-love, the moon for assumptions based on falsities, and the army of the heavens for the falsities themselves.
All of this now indicates that the ark of the covenant, containing the testimony (or covenant), was the Lord himself; that the book of the covenant was the Lord himself (Exodus 24:4, 7; 34:4, 5, 6, 7, 27;{*1} Deuteronomy 4:13, 23); and that the blood of the covenant was the Lord himself (Exodus 24:6, 8). The Lord alone is the Regenerator, so the covenant is regeneration itself.
Footnotes:
{*1} The first Latin edition cites Exodus 24:4-5, 6, 7, 27, and does not cite Exodus 34 at all here, but there is no verse 27 in Exodus 24. The only verse in the five books of Moses that specifically refers to a "book of the covenant" is Exodus 24:7. The others listed here have to do directly or indirectly with the written law. The third Latin edition emends the reference to 24:4-7; 34:27. [LHC]
Potts(1905-1910) 666
666. That a "covenant" signifies nothing else than regeneration and the things pertaining to regeneration, is evident from various passages in the Word where the Lord Himself is called the "Covenant" because it is He alone who regenerates, and who is looked to by the regenerate man, and is the all in all of love and faith. That the Lord is the Covenant itself is evident in Isaiah:
I Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations (Isa. 42:6), where a "covenant" denotes the Lord "a light of the nations" is faith. So in chapter 49:6, 8. In Malachi:
Behold I send Mine angel, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the covenant whom ye desire; behold He cometh; who may abide the day of His coming? (Mal. 3:1, 2), where the Lord is called the "Angel of the Covenant." The sabbath is called a "perpetual covenant" (Exod. 31:16), because it signifies the Lord Himself, and the celestial man regenerated by Him. [2] Since the Lord is the very covenant itself, it is evident that all that which conjoins man with the Lord is of the covenant as love and faith, and whatever is of love and faith-for these are of the Lord, and the Lord is in them; and so the covenant itself is in them, where they are received. These have no existence except with a regenerated man, with whom whatever is of the Regenerator or of the Lord is of the covenant, oil is the covenant. As in Isaiah:
My mercy shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed away (Isa. 54:10), where "mercy" and the "covenant of peace" denote the Lord and what belongs to Him. Again:
Incline your ear and come unto Me, hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make a covenant of eternity with you, the sure mercies of David; behold, I have given Him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and a lawgiver to the nations (Isa. 66:3, 4). "David" here denotes the Lord; the "covenant of eternity" is in those things and by those things which are of the Lord, and these are meant by going to Him and hearing, that the soul may live. [3] In Jeremiah:
I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me all the days, for good to them, and to their sons after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put My fear in their heart (Jer. 32:39, 40)." This is said of those who are to be regenerated, and of things that belong to them, namely, "one heart and one way" that is, charity and faith, which are of the Lord and so of the covenant. Again:
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, for they rendered My covenant vain: but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days; I will put My law in the midst of them, and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Jer. 31:31-33). Here the meaning of a "covenant" is clearly explained, that it is the love and faith in the Lord which is with those who are to be regenerated. [4] And again in Jeremiah, love is called the "covenant of the day" and faith the "covenant of the night" (Jer. 33:20). In Ezekiel:
I, Jehovah, will be their God, and My servant David a prince in the midst of them, and I will make with them a covenant of peace, and I will make the evil beast to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell secure in the wilderness, and sleep in the forests (Ezek. 34:24-25). Here regeneration is evidently treated of. "David" denotes the Lord. Again:
David shall be a prince to them to eternity; I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be a covenant of eternity with them; I will set My sanctuary in the midst of them to eternity (Ezek. 37:25-26).Here likewise regeneration is treated of. "David" and the "sanctuary" denote the Lord. And again:
I entered into a covenant with thee, and thou wast Mine; and I washed thee with waters, and washed away thy bloods from upon thee, and I anointed thee with oil (Ezek. 16:8-9), where regeneration is plainly meant. In Hosea:
In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth (Hos. 2:18), meaning regeneration; the "wild beast of the field" denotes the things that are of the will; "the fowl of the heavens" those that are of the understanding. In David:
He hath sent redemption unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant to eternity (Ps. 111:9), also meaning regeneration. It is called a "covenant" because it is given and received. [5] But of those who are not regenerated, or what is the same, who make worship consist in external things, and esteem and worship themselves and what they desire and think as if they were gods, it is said that they render the covenant vain, because they separate themselves from the Lord. And in Jeremiah:
They have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah their God, and have bowed themselves down to other gods, and served them (Jer. 22:9). In Moses:
He who should transgress the covenant by serving other gods-the sun, the moon, the army of the heavens-should be stoned (Deut. 17:2 seq.).The "sun" denotes the love of self; the "moon" principles of falsity; the "army of the heavens" falsities themselves. From all this it is now evident what the "ark of the covenant" signified wherein was the "covenant" or "testimony" namely, that it signified the Lord Himself; and that the "book of the covenant" also signified the Lord Himself (Exod. 24:4-7; 34:27; Deut. 4:13, 23); and likewise that by the "blood of the covenant" (Exod. 24:6, 8) was signified the Lord Himself, who alone is the Regenerator. Hence the "covenant" denotes regeneration itself.
Elliott(1983-1999) 666
666. 'A covenant' means nothing other than regeneration and the things that constitute regeneration. This becomes clear from many places in the Word where the Lord Himself is called 'the Covenant', for it is He alone who regenerates, to whom a regenerated person looks, and who is the All in all of love and faith. That the Lord is the Covenant itself is clear in Isaiah, I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, taking You by the hand and keeping You, and I will give You for a Covenant of the people, a light of the nations. Isa 42:6.
Here 'a Covenant' stands for the Lord, and 'the light of the nations' is faith. Similarly in Isa 49:6, 8. In Malachi,
Behold, I am sending My angel, and suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking, and the Angel of the Covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming. Who will endure the day of His coming? Mal 3:1, 2.
Here the Lord is called 'the Angel of the Covenant'. In Exod 31:16 the Sabbath is called an eternal covenant because it means the Lord Himself. It also means the celestial man who has been regenerated by Him.
[2] The Lord being the Covenant itself, it is clear that what constitutes the covenant is everything that joins a person to the Lord, that is to say, love and faith and the things that belong to love and faith. In fact these are the Lord's and the Lord is within them, and so the Covenant itself exists within these, where they are received. These things do not exist except with someone who has been regenerated, with whom anything at all that is the Regenerator's, or the Lord's, constitutes the covenant, or is the covenant. As in Isaiah,
My mercy will not depart from you, and the covenant of My peace will not be removed. Isa 54:10.
Here 'mercy and covenant of peace' means the Lord and things that are the Lord's. In the same prophet,
Incline your ear and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live, and I will make with you an eternal covenant, even the sure mercies of David. Lo, I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a leader and lawgiver to the peoples. Isa 55:3, 4.
Here 'David' stands for the Lord. 'The eternal covenant' exists in and acts through those qualities that are the Lord's, which are meant by 'coming to Him' and 'hearing so that your soul may live'.
[3] In Jeremiah,
I will give them one heart and one way, to fear Me all their days, for their own good and that of their sons after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear into their heart. Jer 31:39, 40.
This stands for those who are to be regenerated, and also for those things with someone regenerate which are 'one heart and one way', namely charity and faith, which belong to the Lord and so to the covenant. In the same prophet,
Behold, the days are coming, said 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 heart, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Jer 31:31-33.
This is an explicit statement of what constitutes the covenant - love and faith in the Lord, which will be present with him who is to be regenerated.
[4] In the same prophet love is called the covenant far the day, and faith the covenant for the night, Jer. 33. 20. In Ezekiel,
I Jehovah will be their God, and my servant David will be prince in the midst of them; and I will make with them a covenant of peace, and I will banish the evil wild animal from the land, and they will dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. Ezek 34:24, 25.
This clearly refers to regeneration. 'David' stands for the Lord. In the same prophet,
David will be their prince for ever. I will make with them a covenant of peace, it will be n eternal covenant with them. I will set My sanctuary in their midst for evermore. Ezek 37:25, 26.
This similarly refers to regeneration. 'David' and 'the sanctuary' stand for the Lord. In the same prophet,
I entered into a covenant with you, and you were Mine. And I washed you with water and washed away your blood from upon you, and anointed you with oil. Ezek 16:8, 9, 11.
This clearly stands for regeneration. In Hosea,
I will make for them a covenant on that day, with the wild animals of the field, and with the birds of the air,a and with the creeping things of the earth. Hosea 2:18.
This stands for regeneration. 'Wild animals of the field' stands for things of the will, 'birds of the air'a for those of the understanding. In David,
He sent redemption to His people, He commanded His covenant for ever. Ps 111:9.
This stands for regeneration. This is called 'a covenant' because it is something given and received.
[5] People however who have not been regenerated - or what amounts to the same, who focus worship on things that are external and who set up and worship as gods both themselves and everything they desire and think- are referred to, because they separate themselves from the Lord, as rendering the covenant invalid', as in Jeremiah,
They forsook the covenant of Jehovah their God, and bowed down to other gods and served them Jer 22:9.
In Moses,
He who transgressed the covenant by serving other gods, the sun, the moon, and the host of heaven, was to be stoned. Deut 17:2and following verses.
'The sun' stands for self-love, 'the moon' for false assumptions, 'the host of heaven' for falsities themselves. From this it is now clear what 'the Ark of the covenant' is, containing the testimony or covenant, namely the Lord Himself; what 'the Book of the covenant' is, namely the Lord Himself, Exod 24:4-7; 34:27; Deut 4:13, 23; what 'the Blood of the covenant' is, namely the Lord Himself, Exod 24:6, 8; who alone is the Regenerator. Hence 'a covenant' is regeneration itself.
Latin(1748-1756) 666
666. Quod 'foedus' nihil aliud significet quam regenerationem et quae regenerationis sunt, constare potest ex Verbo passim ubi Ipse Dominus appellatur 'Foedus,' quia Ipse unicus est Qui regenerat, et Qui ab homine regenerato spectatur, et est Omne in omnibus amoris et fidei: quod Dominus sit ipsum Foedus constat apud Esaiam, Ego Jehovah vocari Te in justitia, et apprehendens manum Tuam, et custodiens Te, et dabo Te in Foedus populi, in lucem gentium, xlii 6;ubi 'foedus' pro Domino; 'lux gentium' est fides; similiter, cap. xlix 6, 8: apud Malachiam, Ecce Ego mittens angelum Meum,... et subito veniet ad templum Suum Dominus, Quem vos quaerentes, et Angelus foederis, quem vos desideratis; ecce venit,... quis sustinet diem Adventus Ipsius, iii 1, 2;
ubi Dominus appellatur 'Angelus foederis.' Sabbatum appellatur 'foedus aeternum,' Exod. xxxi 16, quia significat Ipsum Dominum; et hominem ab Ipso regeneratum caelestem. [2] Quia Dominus est ipsum Foedus, constat quod foederis sit omne quod conjungit hominem Domino, ita amor et fides, et quae sunt amoris et fidei; illa enim sunt Domini et in illis Dominus, ita ipsum foedus in illis ubi recipiuntur; haec non dantur nisi quam apud regeneratum, apud quem quicquid est Regeneratoris seu Domini, hoc est foederis seu foedus; ut apud Esaiam, Misericordia Mea a tecum non recedet, et foedus pacis Meae non dimovebitur, liv 10;
ubi 'misericordia et foedus pacis' est Dominus et quae sunt Domini: apud eundem, Inclinate aurem vestram et ite ad Me, audite et vivat {1} ad vestra, et pangam vobis foedus aeternitatis, misericordias Davidis firmas; en testem populis dedi Ipsum, ducem et legislatorem populis, {2} lv 3, 4;
ubi 'David' pro Domino; 'foedus aeternitatis' in illis, et per illa, quae sunt Domini, quae intelliguntur per 'ire ad Ipsum,' et 'audire ut vivat anima': [3] apud Jeremiam, Dabo illis cor unum et viam unam, ad timendum Me omnibus diebus in bonum illis et filiis illorum post illos; feriamque illis foedus saeculi, quod non avertar a post eos, ad benefaciendum Me illis, et timorem Meum dabo in cor illorum, xxxii 39, 40;
pro illis qui regenerandi, tum pro iis quae sunt apud regeneratum, quae sunt 'cor unum, et via una,' hoc est, charitas et fides, quae sunt Domini, ita foederis: apud eundem, Ecce dies venientes, dictum Jehovae, et pangam cum domo Israelis, et cum domo Jehudae foedus pacis; 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, eroque iis in Deum, et ii erunt Mihi in populum, xxxi 31-33;
manifeste hic explicatur quid 'foedus,' quod sit amor et fides in Dominum, quae apud regenerandum: [4] apud eundem, appellatur amor 'foedus diei,' et fides 'foedus noctis,' xxxiii 20: apud Ezechielem, Ego Jehovah ero illis in Deum, et servus Meus David princeps in medio illorum,... et pangam illis foedus pacis, et cessare faciam feram malam e terra, et habitabunt in deserto confidenter, et dormient in silvis, xxxiv 24, 25;
ibi manifeste de regeneratione; 'David' pro Domino: apud eundem, David... princeps iis in aeternum; pangam iis foedus pacis, foedus aeternitatis erit cum illis,... ponam sanctuarium Meum in medio eorum in aeternum, xxxii 25, 26;
ubi similiter de regeneratione; 'David' et 'sanctuarium' pro Domino: apud eundem, Inii foedus tecum,... et fuisti Mihi; et lavi te aquis, et ablui sanguines tuos desuper te, et unxi te oleo, xvi 8, 9, 11;
ubi manifeste pro regeneratione: apud Hosheam, Pangam illis foedus in die illo, cum fera agri et cum avis caelorum et reptili terrae, ii 18;
pro regeneratione; 'fera agri' pro illis quae sunt voluntatis, 'avis caelorum' quae sunt intellectus: apud Davidem, Redemptionem misit populo Suo, praecepit in aeternum foedus Suum, Ps. cxi 9;
pro regeneratione: 'foedus' dicitur quia datur et recipitur. [5] Qui vero non regenerati sunt, seu quod idem est, qui in externis ponunt cultum, et semet et quae cupiunt et cogitant, sicut pro diis aestimant et colunt, et quia separant se a Domino, praedicatur de iis quod 'irritum reddant foedus'; ut apud Jeremiam, Deseruerunt foedus Jehovae Dei sui, et incurvarunt se diis aliis, et serviverunt iis, xxii 9:
apud Mosen, Qui transgrederetur foedus serviendo diis aliis, soli, lunae, exercitui caelorum, lapidaretur, Deut. xvii 2 seq;
'sol' pro amore sui, 'luna' pro principiis falsi, 'exercitus caelorum' pro ipsis falsis. Exinde nunc constat quid 'arca foederis,' in qua testimonium seu foedus, quod Ipse Dominus; quid 'Liber foederis,' quod Ipse Dominus, Exod. xxiv 4-7; (x)xxxiv 27; Deut. iv 13, 23; quid 'Sanguis foederis,' quod Ipse Dominus, Exod. xxiv 6, 8, Qui solus Regenerator; inde 'foedus' ipsa regeneratio. @1 Line 6 below, and n. 3869 have ut vivat.$ @2 I and Sch. have gentibus, so also n. 6804; but Heb. and n. 4197 has populis.$