Final answer:
Reverend Hale's statement to Tituba relates to the Puritan concept of the covenant, positing that individuals and the community must purge sin to maintain a covenant with God.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the quote you've provided from The Crucible, Reverend Hale is invoking the Puritan concept of the covenant, specifically one that links the community's welfare directly to divine will. The tenet to which Hale is referring is the belief that individuals and the community have a responsibility to root out sin and maintain a pure society as part of a covenant with God. This connects to the broader Puritan belief in predestination and the search for signs of salvation, as having a community free from the Devil's influence would be indicative of God's favor. The idea that Tituba is "God's instrument" speaks to the Puritan sense of mission to create a godly society, which could be seen as a microcosm of the celestial order on earth, often described metaphorically as a "city on a hill."