9396. And he took the book of the covenant. That this signifies the Word in the letter with which the Word in heaven has been conjoined, is evident from the signification of “the book,” as being the Word in the whole complex (of which in what follows); and from the signification of a “covenant,” as being conjunction (n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778). By “the book of the covenant” is here meant everything the Lord spoke from Mount Sinai, for it is said just above (verse 4) “and Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah.” Consequently by “the book of the covenant” in a narrow sense is meant the Word revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, and in a wide sense the Word in the whole complex, because this is the Divine truth revealed by the Lord. And as the Lord thereby conjoins Himself with the man of the church, it is “the book of the covenant,” because “covenant” denotes conjunction.

[2] But at the present day it is not known what is the conjunction of the Lord with the man of the church through the Word, because heaven is now closed. For at the present day scarcely anyone speaks with angels and spirits, and thereby knows how they perceive the Word; when yet this was known to the ancient, and especially to the most ancient people, for it was a common thing with them to speak with spirits and angels. The reason was that in ancient times, and especially in the most ancient times, men were interior men, for they thought in the spirit almost abstractedly from the body; whereas modern men are exterior men, and think in the body almost abstractedly from the spirit. Hence it is that heaven has as it were gone away from man; for the communication of heaven is with the internal man when this can be abstracted from the body, but not with the external man immediately. Consequently the nature of the conjunction of the Lord with man through the Word is not now known.

[3] Those who think from the sensuous of the body, and not from the sensuous of the spirit, must needs conceive that the sense of the Word in heaven is such as it is in the world, that is, such as it is in the letter. If it be said that the sense of the Word in heaven is such as is the thought of the internal man, which is devoid of material ideas, that is, of worldly, bodily, and earthly ideas, this would now be a paradox; and especially if it should be said that the sense of the Word in heaven differs as much from its sense in the world (that is, in the letter), as a heavenly paradise differs from an earthly one, and as heavenly food and drink differ from earthly. How great the difference is, appears from the fact that the heavenly paradise is intelligence and wisdom; that heavenly food is all the good of love and charity; and heavenly drink all the truth of faith from this good. At the present day who would not marvel if he should hear that when mention is made in the Word of a “paradise,” a “garden,” a “vineyard,” in heaven there are perceived no paradise, garden, or vineyard; but instead of these such things as belong to intelligence and wisdom from the Lord; and that when mention is made of meat and drink, such as “bread,” “flesh,” “wine,” “water,” instead of these there are perceived in heaven such things as belong to the good of love and truth of faith from the Lord; and this not by unfoldings nor in a comparative manner, but in actuality from correspondences; because the heavenly things that pertain to wisdom, intelligence, the good of love, and the truth of faith, correspond in actuality to these earthly things. And into this correspondence was the internal man created relatively to the external man; thus heaven which is in the internal man relatively to the world which is in the external man. And such is the case in general. That in heaven the Word is understood and perceived according to correspondences, and that this sense is the internal sense, has been shown throughout in the preceding pages.

[4] He who apprehends what has just been said, can know, and in some measure perceive, that through the Word there is a conjunction of man with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord; and that without the Word there would be no conjunction. (See what has been shown on this subject in n. 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094, 9212, 9216, 9357, and in many other places.) From this it is now evident why Moses took the book of the covenant and read it before the people; and why he then sprinkled the blood on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant.” This was done for the reason that in heaven the blood of the sacrifice denotes the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, thus on our earth the Word (n. 9393). As by a “covenant” is signified conjunction, and as conjunction is effected through the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, that is, the Word, therefore all things that belong to the Divine truth from the Lord, or to the Word, are called a “covenant,” such as the tables on which the ten commandments were written, and also the judgments, statutes, and all other things contained in the books of Moses, and in general all things contained in the Word of both Old and New Testaments.

[5] That the tables on which the ten commandments were written were called a “covenant,” is evident from Moses:

Jehovah wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten words (Exodus 34:28).

I went up into the mountain to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which Jehovah made with you; Jehovah gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant. I came down from the mountain, when the mountain was burning with fire; and the two tables of the covenant were on my two hands (Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 15).

Jehovah declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to do, even the ten words, which He wrote upon the tables of stone. Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He made with you (Deuteronomy 4:13, 23).

As the two tables were deposited in the ark, which was in the middle, that is, in the inmost, of the tabernacle, therefore the ark was called “the ark of the covenant” (Numbers 10:33; 14:44; Deuteronomy 10:8; 31:9, 25-26; Josh. 3:3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17; 4:7, 9, 18; 6:6, 8; 8:33; Judges 20:27; 1 Samuel 4:3-5; 2 Samuel 15:24; 1 Kings 3:15; 6:19; 8:1, 6; Jeremiah 3:16)

[6] That the books of Moses were called “the book of the covenant,” is evident from the finding of them by Hilkiah the priest in the temple, of which we read in the second book of the Kings:

Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah; and they read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant found in the house of Jehovah (2 Kings 22:7; 23:2).

[7] That the Word of the Old Testament was called a “covenant,” is evident from Isaiah:

To them that hold fast My covenant will I give in My house, and within My walls, a place and a name better than sons and daughters (Isaiah 56:4-5).

Hear ye the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers. Obey My voice, and do them, according to all which I command you (Jeremiah 11:2, 4).

All the ways of Jehovah are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies (Psalms 25:10).

The mercy of Jehovah is from eternity to eternity upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness to the sons of sons; to such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments (Psalms 103:17-18).

They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in His law (Psalms 78:10); where the covenant of God is called “the law” of God. (That by “the law” in a wide sense is meant the whole Word; in a less wide sense the historic Word; in a narrow sense the Word written by Moses; and in the narrowest sense the ten commandments of the Decalogue, see n. 6752)

[8] That the Word of the New Testament also is a “covenant,” is evident in Jeremiah:

Behold the days come that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, I will put My law in the midst of them, and I will write it on their heart (Jeremiah 31:31, 33).

“The house of Israel” denotes the spiritual church; and “the house of Judah,” the celestial church. And in David:

I also will make him the firstborn, high among the kings of the earth, and My covenant shall stand fast with him. My covenant will I not make vile, nor change the declaration of My lips (Psalms 89:27-28, 34);

speaking of the Lord; “My covenant shall stand fast with him” denotes the union of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human; thus also the Word, for the Lord as to the Divine Human was the Word that was made flesh, that is, man (John 1:1-3, 14).

[9] That the Divine truth or the Word is a covenant or conjunction, is because it is the Divine from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself. And therefore when the Word is received by man, the Lord Himself is received. From this it is evident that through the Word there is conjunction of the Lord with man; and because there is conjunction of the Lord with man, there is also conjunction of heaven with man, for heaven is called heaven from the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, consequently from what is Divine; and therefore those who are in heaven are said to be “in the Lord.” That the Divine conjoins Itself with those who love the Lord, and keep His Word, may be seen in John 14:23.

[10] From all this it can be seen that by “the blood of the covenant” is meant the conjunction of the Lord through heaven with man by means of the Word. Also in Zechariah:

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the war bow shall be cut off; and He shall speak peace unto the nations; His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. As for thee also, through the blood of thy covenant, I will send forth thy bound ones out of the pit wherein is no water (Zech. 9:10-11).

[11] He who knows nothing of the internal sense cannot conceive here anything but what is contained in the sense of the letter; namely, that the chariot shall be cut off from Ephraim, the horse from Jerusalem, and the war bow, and finally that by “the blood of the covenant” is meant the blood of the Lord, by which those who are in sins should be set free; explaining in various ways who are meant by “the bound ones in the pit wherein is no water.” But he who is acquainted with the internal sense of the Word conceives that Divine truth is here treated of, and that after this has been laid waste, or vastated, that is, after it is no longer received in faith and heart by man, it will be restored through the truth Divine that proceeds from the Lord’s Divine Human; and thus that those who believe and do it will be conjoined with the Lord Himself. This can be more clearly seen from the internal sense of the several words of the passage; as from the signification of a “chariot” as being the doctrine of the church (n. 2760, 5321, 5945, 8215); of “Ephraim” as being the enlightened understanding of the church (n. 5354, 6222, 6238); from the signification of a “horse” as being the understanding of the Word (n. 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6534, 8029, 8146, 8148); and of “Jerusalem” as being the spiritual church (n. 2117, 3654, 9166); from the signification of a “bow” as being the doctrine of truth (n. 2686, 2709); and of “war” as being a combat about truths (n. 1664, 2686, 8295).

[12] From this it is evident that by “cutting off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the war bow,” is signified the vastation of truth Divine in the church in respect to all the understanding of it; and that by “the bound ones in the pit wherein was no water being sent forth through the blood of the covenant,” is signified restoration through the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine Human of the Lord. (That “blood” denotes Divine truth, and that a “covenant” denotes conjunction, has been shown above; also that “the bound ones in the pit” denote those of the spiritual church who were saved by the Lord’s coming into the world, n. 6854.) It is said “a pit wherein is no water,” because by “water” is signified truth (n. 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 7307, 8137, 8138, 8568, 9323).

3324. And Jacob said. That this signifies the doctrine of truth, is evident from the representation of Jacob, as being the doctrine of natural truth (n. 3305); or what is the same, those who are in the doctrine of truth. In these verses down to the end of this chapter to the end, the subject treated of is the right of priority, as to whether it is of truth or of good; or what is the same, whether it is of the doctrine of truth or of the life of good; or what is still the same, whether it is of faith insofar as this is truth of doctrine, or whether it is of charity insofar as this is good of life. When man draws a conclusion from natural perception, he believes that faith, insofar as it is truth of doctrine, is prior to charity insofar as this is good of life, because he perceives how the truth of doctrine enters, but not how the good of life; for the former enters by an external, that is, a sensuous way, while the latter enters by an internal way; and also because he cannot know otherwise than that as truth teaches what is good, it is prior to good; and also because the reformation of man is effected through truth and according to truth, insomuch that man is perfected as to good in proportion to the amount of truth that can be conjoined with it, consequently good is perfected through truth; and what is more, because man can be in truth, and think and speak from it, and this with apparent zeal, although he is not at the same time in good; yea, he may even from truth be confident of his salvation. These and many other considerations lead man to suppose, when judging from the sensuous and natural man, that the truth which is of faith is prior to the good which is of charity; but all these are reasonings from fallacies, based on the appearance to the sensuous and natural man.

[2] The good itself which is of life is prior; the good which is of life being the very ground in which truths are to be sown; and such as is the ground, such is the reception of the seeds, that is, of the truths of faith. Truths may indeed be first stored up in the memory, like seeds in a granary, or with birds in their crops; but they do not belong to the man unless the ground is prepared; and such as is the ground, that is, such as is the good, such is their germination and fructification. But see on this subject what has been already shown in many places, which will be here cited in order that it may be known what good is and what truth, and that the priority belongs to good and not to truth:

[3] Why there is no distinctive idea as between good and truth (n. 2507). That good flows in by an internal way unknown to man, while truth is procured by an external way known to man (n. 3030, 3098). That truths are vessels recipient of good (n. 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269, 3068, 3318). That good acknowledges its truth, with which it may be conjoined (n. 3101, 3102, 3179); and that most exquisite exploration is made and precaution taken lest falsity be conjoined with good, and truth with evil (n. 3033, 3101, 3102). That good makes for itself the truth with which it may be conjoined, because it does not acknowledge anything as truth except that which agrees with it (n. 3161). That truth is nothing else than that which is from good (n. 2434).

[4] That truth is the form of good (n. 3049). That truth has in itself an image of good; and in good the very effigy of itself from which it exists (n. 3180). That the seed which is truth is rooted in the good which is of charity (n. 880). That faith is impossible except in its life, that is, in love and charity (379, 389, 654, 724, 1608, 2343, 2349). That from love and charity man can look to the truths which pertain to the doctrinal things of faith, but not the reverse; and that to look from faith, and not from love and charity, is to look behind one’s self, and to turn back (n. 2454). That truth is made alive in accordance with the good of each person, thus in accordance with the state of innocence and charity in man (n. 1776, 3111). That the truths of faith can be received only by those who are in good (n. 2343, 2349). That they who are in no charity cannot acknowledge the Lord, thus not any truth of faith; and that if they profess such acknowledgment, it is something external without an internal, or is from hypocrisy (n. 2354). That there is no faith where there is no charity (n. 654, 1162, 1176, 2429). That wisdom, intelligence, and memory-knowledge are the sons of charity (n. 1226). That the angels are in intelligence and wisdom because they are in love (n. 2500, 2572).

[5] That angelic life consists in the goods of charity, and that the angels are forms of charity (n. 454, 553). That love to the Lord is a “likeness” of Him, and charity toward the neighbor an “image” of Him (n. 1013). That through love to the Lord the angels perceive whatever is of faith (n. 202). That nothing lives except love and affection (n. 1589). That they who have mutual love, or charity, have the Lord’s life (n. 1799, 1803). That love to the Lord and the neighbor is heaven itself (n. 1802, 1824, 2057, 2130-2131). That the presence of the Lord is according to the state of love and charity (n. 904). That all the commandments of the Decalogue, and all things of faith, are in charity (n. 1121, 1798). That knowledge of the doctrinal things of faith effects nothing unless the man has charity, for doctrinal things look to charity as their end (n. 2049, 2116). That neither the acknowledgment of truth, nor faith, is possible unless the man is in good (n. 2261). That the holy of worship is according to the quality and quantity of the truth of faith implanted in charity (n. 2190).

[6] That there is no salvation by faith, but by the life of faith, which is charity (n. 2228, 2261). That the heavenly kingdom is given to those who have the faith of charity (n. 1608). That in heaven all are regarded from their charity and the derivative faith (n. 1258). That none are admitted into heaven except by willing good from the heart (n. 2401). That they are saved who are in faith, provided that in their faith there is good (n. 2261, 2442). That the faith which has not been implanted in the good of life altogether perishes in the other life (n. 2228). That if the faith of thought were saving, all would be brought into heaven; but because the life opposes they cannot be brought in (n. 2363). That they who hold as a principle that faith alone saves, contaminate truths by the falsity of this principle (n. 2383, 2385). That the fruit of faith is good work, good work is charity, charity is love to the Lord, love to the Lord is the the Lord, (n. 1873). That the fruits of faith are fruits of the good which is of love and charity (n. 3146).

[7] That the trust or confidence which is said to be saving faith is not possible except with those who are in the good of life (n. 2982). That good is the life of truth (n. 1589). When it is that truths are said to have gained life (n. 1928). That good from the Lord flows into truths of every kind, but it is of the greatest importance that they should be genuine truths (n. 2531). That good and truth from the Lord flow in just in proportion as that which is evil and false is removed (n. 2411, 3142, 3147). That good cannot flow into truth so long as the man is in evil (n. 2388). That truth is not truth until it is accepted by good (n. 2429). That there is a marriage of good and of truth in things all and each (n. 2173, 2503, 2507). That the affection of good is of life, and the affection of truth is for the sake of life (n. 2455). That truth tends to good, and proceeds from good (n. 2063).

[8] That by influx truths are called forth out of the natural man, elevated, and implanted in good in the rational man (n. 3085, 3086). That when truth is conjoined with a man, it is appropriated to him (n. 3108). That in order that truth may be conjoined with good, there must be consent by the understanding and by the will, and when by the will, then conjunction takes place (n. 3157, 3158). That the rational as to truth is acquired by means of knowledges; and that truths are appropriated when they are conjoined with good; and that they are then of the will, and for the sake of life (n. 3161). That truth is not at once initiated and conjoined with good, but during the whole life, and also afterwards (n. 3200). That as light without heat produces nothing, so the truth of faith produces nothing without the good of love (n. 3146). What the idea of truth without good is; and what its light is in the other life (n. 2228). That faith separated is like the light of winter; and faith from charity like the light of spring (n. 2231). That they who in act separate truth, which is faith, from charity, cannot have conscience (n. 1076, 1077). The reason why men have separated faith from charity, and have declared that faith saves (n. 2231).

[9] That during man’s regeneration the Lord insinuates good into the truths that are in him (n. 2183, 2189). That man is not regenerated by means of truth, but by means of good (n. 989, 2146, 2183, 2189, 2697). That during man’s regeneration the Lord goes to meet and fills with the good of charity the truths that are in him (n. 2063). That they who are in the good of life, and not in the truth of faith, as is the case with Gentiles and infants, receive the truths of faith in the other life, and are regenerated (n. 989); concerning the Gentiles (n. 932, 1032, 2049, 2284, 2589-2604); concerning infants (n. 2290-2293, 2302-2304). That man is regenerated by means of the affection of truth; and that when he is regenerated he acts from the affection of good (n. 1904). That in one about to be regenerated the seed can take root only in good (n. 880, 989). That the light of a regenerate man is from charity not from faith ¹ (n. 854). That the same truths in one person may be true, in another less true, and in others may even be falsities, and that this is according to the good which is of the life (n. 2439). What the difference is between the good of infancy, the good of ignorance, and the good of intelligence (n. 2280). Who can come into the knowledges of truth and into faith, and who cannot (n. 2689).

[10] That the church is not a church unless the truths of doctrine are implanted in the good of life (n. 3310). That what is doctrinal does not make the church, but charity (n. 809, 916, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844). That the doctrinal things of a church are nothing, unless its members live according to them (n. 1515). That the doctrine of faith is the doctrine of charity (n. 2571). That the church is from charity, and not from faith separated (n. 916). That everyone may know from charity whether he has the internal of worship (n. 1102, 1151, 1153). That the church of the Lord throughout the world is everywhere various as to truths, but that it is one through charity (n. 3267). That the church would be one if all had charity, even though its members differed as to ritual and doctrinal matters (n. 809, 1285, 1316, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844). That out of many would be made one church, if all accounted charity and not faith as being that which is essential of the church (n. 2982). That there are two kinds of doctrinal things, the doctrinal things of charity and the doctrinal things of faith; and that in the Ancient Church there were the doctrinal things of charity, which at this day are among the things that are lost (n. 2417).

[11] In what ignorance of truth they are who are not in the doctrinal things of charity (n. 2435). And whereas at this day faith is made the essential of the church, men do not even see, nor attend to the things the Lord so often said concerning love and charity (n. 1017, 2373). That the good which is of love to the Lord and of charity toward the neighbor, is superior and prior to the truth which is of faith; and not the reverse (n. 363, 364).

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