60. The tables of stone, on which the Law was written, were called The Tables of the Covenant, and the ark was called from them The Ark of the Covenant, and the Law itself The Covenant, as may be seen in
Num. x 33; Deut. iv 13, 23; v 2, 3; ix 9; Joshua iii 11; I Kings viii 21; Rev. xi 19; and in many other places.
The Law was called a Covenant because a covenant signifies conjunction. Therefore it is said of the Lord that
He will be for a covenant to the people. Isa. xlii 6; xlix 8.
He is also called The angel of the covenant. Mal. iii 1
and His blood, The blood of the covenant. Matt. xxvi 28; Zech. ix 11; Exod. xxiv 4-10.
Therefore the Word is called The Old Covenant and The New Covenant; for covenants are entered into for the sake of love, of friendship, of association, and thus of conjunction.
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