“Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful people. You said, “I have raised up a warrior. I have selected him from the common people to be king. I have found my servant David. I have anointed him with my holy oil. I will steady him with my hand; with my powerful arm I will make him strong. His enemies will not defeat him, nor will the wicked overpower him. I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him. My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and by my authority he will grow in power. I will extend his rule over the sea, his dominion over the rivers. And he will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ I will make him my firstborn son, the mightiest king on earth. I will love him and be kind to him forever; my covenant with him will never end. I will preserve an heir for him; his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven. But if his descendants forsake my instructions and fail to obey my regulations, if they do not obey my decrees and fail to keep my commands, then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their disobedience with beating. But I will never stop loving him nor fail to keep my promise to him. No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said. I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I cannot lie: His dynasty will go on forever; his kingdom will endure as the sun. It will be as eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!””
Psalms 89:19-37 NLT
We know that this Covenant pledge will eventually be fulfilled in Jesus. Here is what angel Gabriel said to Mary:
“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!””
Luke 1:31-33 NLT
And again in God’s promises to David, and to Mary, we hear the words: forever. To me, those words are saying: God has pledged Himself in the strongest possible terms. He will provide the ongoing care and support for people who will willingly accept it. In this Covenant He said:
“I will steady him with my hand; with my powerful arm I will make him strong. His enemies will not defeat him, nor will the wicked overpower him. I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him. My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and by my authority he will grow in power.”
Psalms 89:21-24 NLT
And then He also adds:
“No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said. I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I cannot lie: His dynasty will go on forever; his kingdom will endure as the sun.”
Psalms 89:34-36 NLT
Although these Covenants are spoken to, and made with the individuals, I see in it a message to the whole human race. In it God pledges on His Divine authority, and on the power of His holy reputation, that He will spare nothing however dear, which is necessary to the completion of our Redemption. He will give us opportunities. He will pour upon us His blessings. He will heap favour upon favour, gift upon gift. He will open the whole treasury of heaven to those He seeks to save.
Just listen to these tender words of love found in Isaiah 55:
““Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David. See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations. You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.” Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.”
Isaiah 55:1-7 NLT
Here I wish to repeat the words I quoted in the beginning about the meaning of the word ‘covenant’. Dictionary says it means: ‘An agreement which brings about a relationship of commitment between God and His people’.
We have heard many words of God’s pledges in the Covenant context. He gives a lot but does not ask for much. Here in Isaiah however, God expresses His yearning, hoping that there would be some response from us in the light of His colossal commitments:
“Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.”
Isaiah 55:6-7 NLT
Yes. A relationship of commitment between God and His people. Let us deliberately choose to come back to God, to love Him back. Let us accept His gifts and walk in ‘His ways’. His ways are the only ways which work. If we choose His ways – He will Save us.
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Here I wish to pause a little, and say a few words in general about what I see.
These Covenants are like God’s promises, and the Bible is full of God’s promises. We know that God’s promises are faithful and can be trusted with absolute certainty. But like the rest of divine realities, all promises can only be accessed by faith. Faith is a gift of God and it comes from Him, (Galatians 5:22). Faith is unshakable confidence that what God has said will come true. It is unshakable because it is grounded on God’s faithfulness and not on anything we bring with us. Faith is a part of “God’s ways”. When we believe, God’s words are as certain as the deed already done.
““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NLT
Clearly, Salvation is God’s business. It is based on what God has done and on what Jesus has achieved. It is freely given to those who believe. Who trust that God is faithful and will do what He says. The miracle of our Salvation will succeed because the vehicle that brings it to us is this beautiful mysterious heavenly gift we call faith. Faith works because it trusts God’s Word. God’s promise. God’s faithfulness. It is God who turns faith into substance. “… so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NLT
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”
Hebrews 11:1 NLT
When we use faith like that, what we hope for – turns into substance. It turns into substance because God said it would.
“Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”
Mark 11:22-24 NLT
If we approach any of God’s promises with this beautiful God-designed faith, God will honour it.