The Newness of the Covenant
J. G. Burns. Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, said the LORD… A covenant is a contract or agreement between two parties, binding each to the other, and equally binding on both. The eligibility of any such covenant depends on the fitness of the parties concerned to carry out the terms, the conditions of it, — when on both sides equally, there is alike the will and the power to act upon it, to adhere to it. The two parties to the covenant referred to in the preceding verse, were "the God of Israel," and "the house of Israel." It was made "with their fathers in the day that He took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt." That was the date of it. It was a covenant of mutual friendship or goodwill, and of mutual service. He was "an husband unto them (ver. 32), and it was something equivalent, in respect of sacredness, to the marriage vow by which, as His chosen bride, their fidelity was pledged to Him. Which covenant, however, they brake. Their idolatry was "adultery." The only claim which Israel had thereafter was to "get a bill of divorcement, and to be put away." Her merited doom would have been final rejection, — to have had "a full end made" of her, as there was to be, as there has been, of the other nations, such as Babylon, whither the Lord scattered her. Instead of this, however, a wondrous announcement, prefaced by the word "Behold," is here made (ver. 33). The former covenant having come to nought, through the failure of one of the contracting parties, God Says, He will make another, — He will make another with the same "treacherous house of Israel" He will bind Himself to them anew. But He Will so make it this time, as to ensure its being kept. He will become bound for both the parties, He will undertake for the fidelity of His partner, as well as for His own. It is the "covenant of grace," of which the text speaks, as the presently existing regime, the basis of the constitution, under which,-as the subjects of God's moral government, we now live ; the covenant, one and alone, without a second, like the one bow in the cloud," in the day of ram, spanning the world in its embrace. It is new in form, though not in substance. It was new to Adam, the first covenant-transgressor, when, instead of doom, he found in it deliverance. It was new to Abraham, when his faith in it was counted to him for (or unto) righteousness, when he received the seal of his acceptance with God, not after, but "before he was circumcised." It was new to as many of Abraham's posterity, under the law, as had faith enough to discern its newness through the haze, and amid the shadows of that comparatively dark economy, — devout men like Simeon, and devout women like Anna, who waited for the "consolation of Israel." It was new — a new revelation to the world — when that new thing was created in the earth of which the prophet speaks (ver. 22), the sinless humanity of Christ, when "God sent forth His Son," &c. It is new still to every newly awakened sinner, when he first gets a sight of it, reads it with his own eyes, and finds out that there is a place in it for him. It is new in this respect, that it shall never be "old," or become obsolete, or go out of date, or lose its charm, or disclose all that is wonderful in it, never, even in eternity! There are four clauses, or articles, in it, setting forth the fourfold provision which He has made for carrying it into effect, i.e., for carrying out what has been His invariable purpose, in all His transactions with men as His creatures, from the beginning, even to "bless them," by making and keeping them obedient to Himself — to make them happy, in their being obedient and holy. 1. Clear understanding. "I will put My law into their mind." God does this when He lets us see ourselves as the breakers of it, and Christ as the keeper, the fulfiller of it, — when He reveals to us the length, the breadth, the spirituality, the beauty of the law, — in Christ's living and dying, obedience to it, — how it. was "magnified" by Him! 2. Permanent Impression. "I will put My law into their mind," — to dwell there. I will "write it in their hearts," so as to be indelible, and so as to be ever at hand, available, as a rule of duty, a standard of appeal. 3. There is, however, something more engaged for on our behalf than mere acquiescence or approval. There is pleasure and delight. What is "written in the heart" is the object of thy heart's esteem, love, complacency. And this is true of God's law; when He writes it, then He makes its very strictness look beautiful, its severity seem "sweetly reasonable." Its perfection becomes its charm. 4. Where there is clear intelligence, and constant remembrance, and cordial choice of the law, there will also be — there cannot but be — an abiding, practical influence, — -a loyal subjection to it, such as the legal, carnal mind, that is so fond of making a bargain with God, will not, cannot yield. (J. G. Burns.) Parallel Verses KJV: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. WEB: But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: