From Reformed Baptist Fellowship
Rev. C. H. Spurgeon
“The blood of the everlasting covenant.”—Hebrews 13:20.
And now, what were
the stipulations of this covenant? They
were somewhat in this wise. God had foreseen that man after creation
would break the covenant of works; that however mild and gentle the
tenure upon which Adam had possession of Paradise, yet that tenure would
be too severe for him, and he would be sure to kick against it, and
ruin himself. God had also foreseen that his elect ones, whom he had
chosen out of the rest of mankind would fall by the sin of Adam, since
they, as well as the rest of mankind, were represented in Adam. The
covenant therefore had for its end the restoration of the chosen people.
And now we may readily understand what were the stipulations. On the
Father’s part, thus run the covenant. I cannot tell you it in the
glorious celestial tongue in which it was written: I am fain to bring it
down to the speech which suiteth to the ear of flesh, and to the heart
of a mortal. Thus, I say, run the covenant, in lines like these: “I, the
Most High Jehovah, do hereby give unto my only begotten and
well-beloved Son, a people, countless beyond the number of the stars,
who shall be by him washed from sin, by him preserved, and kept, and
led, and by him, at last, presented before my throne, without spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing. I covenant by oath, and swear by myself,
because I can swear by no greater, that these whom I now give to Christ
shall be for ever the objects of my eternal love. Them will I forgive
through the merit of the blood. To these will I give a perfect
righteousness; these will I adopt and make my sons and daughters, and
these shall reign with me through Christ eternally.” Thus run that
glorious side of the covenant. The Holy Spirit also, as one of the high
contracting parties on this side of the covenant, gave his declaration,
“I hereby covenant,” saith he, “that all whom the Father giveth to the
Son, I will in due time quicken. I will show them their need of
redemption; I will cut off from them all groundless hope, and destroy
their refuges of lies. I will bring them to the blood of sprinkling; I
will give them faith whereby this blood shall be applied to them; I will
work in them every grace; I will keep their faith alive; I will cleanse
them and drive out all depravity from them, and they shall be presented
at last spotless and faultless.” This was the one side of the covenant,
which is at this very day being fulfilled and scrupulously kept. As for
the other side of the covenant this was the part of it, engaged and
covenanted by Christ. He thus declared, and covenanted with his Father:
“My Father, on my part I covenant that in the fulness of time I will
become man. I will take upon myself the form and nature of the fallen
race. I will live in their wretched world, and for my people will I keep
the law perfectly. I will work out a spotless righteousness, which
shall be acceptable to the demands of thy just and; holy law. In due
time I will bear the sins of all my people. Thou shalt exact their debts
on me; the chastisement of their peace I will endure, and by my stripes
they shall be healed. My Father, I covenant and promise that I will be
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. I will magnify thy
law, and make it honourable. I will suffer all they ought to have
suffered. I will endure the curse of thy law, and all the vials of thy
wrath shall be emptied and spent upon my head. I will then rise again; I
will ascend into heaven; I will intercede for them at thy right hand;
and I will make myself responsible for every one of them, that not one
of those whom thou hast given me shall ever be lost, but I will bring
all my sheep of whom, by thy blood, thou hast constituted me the
shepherd—I will bring every one safe to thee at last.” Thus ran the
covenant; and now, I think, you have a clear idea of what it was and how
it stands—the covenant between God and Christ, between God the Father
and God the Spirit, and God the Son as the covenant head and
representative of all God’s elect. I have told you, as briefly as I
could,
what were the stipulations of it. You will please to remark, my dear
friends, that the covenant is, on one side, perfectly fulfilled. God the
Son has paid the debts of all the elect. He has, for us men and for our
redemption, suffered the whole of wrath divine. Nothing remaineth now
on this side of the question except that he shall continue to intercede,
that he may safely bring all his redeemed to glory.
On the side of the Father this part of the covenant has been
fulfilled to countless myriads. God the Father and God the Spirit have
not been behindhand in their divine contract. And mark you, this side
shall be as fully and as completely finished and carried out as the
other. Christ can say of what he promised to do, “It is finished!” and
the like shall be said by all the glorious covenanters. All for whom
Christ died shall be pardoned, all justified, all adopted. The Spirit
shall quicken them all, shall give them all faith, shall bring them all
to heaven, and they shall, every one of them, without let or hindrance,
stand accepted in the beloved, in the day when the people shall be
numbered, and Jesus shall be glorified.
[1]
[1] Spurgeon, C. H.
The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons. Vol. 5. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1859. Print.
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