128. IX. THAT THE WORD IS THE MEDIUM OF CONJUNCTION BECAUSE IT IS FROM THE LORD AND THUS IS THE LORD. That the Word is the medium of the conjunction of the Lord with man and of man with the Lord, is because in its essence, it is Divine Truth united to Divine Good, and Divine Good united to Divine Truth. That this unition exists in each and every thing of the Word in its celestial and spiritual sense, may be seen in THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED, nos. 373, 483, 689, 881. From this it follows that the Word is the perfect marriage of good and truth; and because it is from the Lord, and what is from Him is also Himself, it follows that when man reads the Word and draws truths therefrom, the Lord adjoins good; for man does not see the goods which affect him, because he reads the Word from his understanding, and the understanding draws from it nothing but what pertains to itself, namely, truths. That to these, good is adjoined by the Lord, this, the understanding sensates from the delight which flows in when it is enlightened. But this is not interiorly the case save with those who read the Word with the end of becoming wise; and those have the end of becoming wise who wish to learn genuine truth there, and by means thereof to form the Church with themselves. Those who read it only for the glory of erudition, and those who read it from an opinion that the mere reading or hearing of it inspires faith and conduces to salvation, do not receive any good from the Lord; for with the latter, the end is to save themselves by the mere words there, wherein is nothing of truth; and with the former, the end is to become eminent for erudition, and with this end is conjoined, not any spiritual good but the natural delight which comes from worldly glory. Because the Word is the medium of conjunction, it is therefore called a Covenant, Old and New, and a covenant signifies conjunction.