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8/9/2019 A Biblical Theology of the Ordinance of Covenanting - S. Anderson
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A Biblical Theology of the Ordinance of Covenanting:
Its Use in the Old Testament Economy
Shawn Anderson
Biblical Theology of the Old Testament
Dr. G. Bilkes
4/16/10
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There may not be a more helpful summary statement on God's covenant with man than found in the opening article
in the Westminster Confession's chapter on of God's Covenant with Man which says, The distance between God
and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto Him as their Creator, yet
they could never have any fruition of Him as their blessedness and reward, but by some voluntary condescension
on God's part, which He has been pleased to express by way of covenant.1
When humanity rebelled against God and went their own way in Eden they tried to widen the gap by hiding from
the face of God. In their folly, they did not understand that this distance was now expressed in terms of war and
curse. Whereas before man were distant from God, now man became his mortal enemy!
However our Fall from innocence was not outside of God's plan, for he permitted it, "having purposed to order it to
His own glory."2 As soon as he confronts the fallen, he demonstrated that he had ordained and had always planned
to rescue a people through the Seed of the woman (Gen 3:15). Here is the first Gospel proclamation and the rest of
Scripture is the unfolding or unraveling of the mission of Jesus Christ to redeem his people through the crushing of
that serpent, the devil.
Again, the Confession explains how Christ saves sinners through God's covenant of grace, stating, Man, by his fall,
having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called
the covenant of grace; wherein He freely offers unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ; requiring of them
faith in Him, that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life His
Holy Spirit, to make them willing, and able to believe.34
1 Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) 8:12 WCF 6:13 WCF 8:34 Due to the limitations of this paper, I do not intend to defend the covenant of works, nor the covenant of grace in the Old Testament. I will be
working within the theological presuppositions of the Westminster Standards. See O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenant, DavidP. Murray, God's Shadow: A Manual on Preaching Christ from the Old Testament. (forth-coming), and my bibliography for more resourceson a Covenant Theology of the whole Bible.
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The context of Genesis 3:15 is God's covenant of grace with man through the person and work of Jesus Christ. God
has purposed to restore the relationship between him and his people through means of a covenant. This restoration
is articulated throughout the pages of Scripture with the phrase, I am their God, and they are my people. My
people. God wants his people to see their identity within his saving work of redemption. To be the Lord's people
means there is no longer the status of enemy and is synonymous with being redeemed from a fallen state.
We also find in the Bible that God calls his people to intentionally respond by declaring You are our God and we
are your people. This response to God has been known as covenanting. In this paper I want to explore
covenanting in a biblical theological paradigm. My thesis is two-fold. First, God's condescension by way of
covenant with humanity, through the person, work and teaching of Jesus Christ, required a covenanting response
from individuals, as well as the church and the nations. Second, that the expectation of the people of God in the
former dispensation was that God will use this ordinance to restore his people to Jesus, according to his covenant
promises, and draw the nations into Christ's covenant of grace.
I will ask two questions: (1) What is religious covenanting and how does it relate to the Covenant of Grace? (2)
What did these Old Testament saints commit to in their covenanting? These will be answered in a survey of the
main covenantal dispensations or divisions:5 (a) Adamic (b) Noahic, (c) Abrahamic, (d) Mosaic, (e) Joshuaic, (f)
Davidic, and (g) Restoration period . I will take up the expectation of the new covenant specifically in a third
question: (3) What is the expectation in the Old Testament of the place and use of the ordinance of covenanting in
the dispensation of the Gospel?
5 When I say dispensation I mean it in the spirit of the Westminster Confession which states, There are not therefore two covenants ofgrace, differing in substance, but one and the same, under various dispensations. WCF 7:6. See Eph 2:12 where Paul notes that there areplural 'covenants' bound by one 'promise'.
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1. What is religious covenanting and how does it relate to the Covenant of Grace?
Religious covenanting is an ordinance of God whereby sinners, resting in the love and finished work of Christ,
respond to God's covenant of grace in faith; promising to believe and do what God has revealed and requires of his
creation, which is found in the Scriptures, and swearing by his name to do it by his grace and the help of the Holy
Spirit. All of this is implied in the proclamation, You are our God and we are your people.
Before looking at how covenanting unfolds in the Old Testament, consider some definitions and distinctions
between covenanting and other acts of worship in Scripture, namely vowing and swearing:6
A person who swears an oath, "solemnly calls God to witness what he asserts, or promises, and to judge
him according to the truth or falsehood of what he swears." 7Therefore "the name of God only is that by
which men ought to swear."8
A person who vows a vow, commits to God do something, or to more strictly bind themselves to a
necessary duty by way of promise. A vow "is not to be made to any creature, but to God alone." 9
A person who covenants to God, promises to him to do something they are obligated to do, and calls upon
him to be a witness to the truthfulness and sincerity of their promise and intention.10
Notice then that in an oath one swears by God. In a vow one promises to God. In a covenant one engages
with God, using both vows and oaths.
Many works on covenanting will explain that the Scriptures use these terms covenant, vow and oath
interchangeably to describe the same transaction, though a covenant supposes the promise of a reward which is not
necessarily involved in any of the others.11 This is important to understand because there are times when the
Scripture commands, Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: (Ps 76:11) and here should be understood the
6 Cunningham, John. The ordinance of covenanting. Glasgow: William Marshall, 1843. 15-38. Cunningham spends a great deal of ink toexplain the particulars of the relationship between Covenanting and vows, oaths, and confession; see also Roberts, William L. TheReformed Presbyterian Catechism. New York: Printed by R. Craighead, 1853. 134-35.
7 WCF 22:18 WCF 22:29 WCF 22:610 Roberts, William L. The Reformed Presbyterian Catechism. New York: Printed by R. Craighead, 1853. 135.11 Roberts, Ibid.
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obligation to covenant with the Lord. How can one make a promise to God without being reconciled with him
through faith in Christ and in response to the covenant of grace? How can he perform what he has promised without
God's grace and the power of the Spirit?
Now we turn to the covenantal divisions of the Old Testament to examine our definition: Religious covenanting is
an ordinance of God whereby sinners, resting in the love and finished work of Christ, respond to God's covenant of
grace in faith; promising to believe and do what God has revealed and requires of his creation, which is found in the
Scriptures, and swearing by his name to do it by his grace and the help of the Holy Spirit. This is the meaning of,
You are our God and we are your people.
(a) The Adamic Covenant
In Genesis 4 we read that Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had
respect unto Abel and to his offering: Able approached God in faith, offering covenant worship by and altar
sacrifice. Abel's 'altar' represents Christ's work of substitutionary atonement, therefore an altar when used with faith
is a symbol of covenanting. It is not surprising that when Abel was killed he called out to his Redeemer. God said to
Cain, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground (Gen. 4:4,10).
Further, we read in vs. 26 that Seth had a son, calling his name 'Enos,' meaning 'mortal man'. Seth confessed man's
frailty and inability to save himself in his son's name. In connection with this confession we read, then began men
to call upon the name of the LORD. The marginal note gives further explanation, to call...: or, to call themselves
by the name of the LORD. This is the first time we read of explicit covenant-response by man after the Fall. Note
the perpetual nature of the Sethites' covenanting where multiple generations identify themselves as belonging to
God, hence the title in Gen. 6:2, the sons of God. In this title is echoed, You are our God and we are your sons.
Moses contrasts the prideful rebellion of Lamach to the humility of Enoch, who walkedwith God: and he was
not; for God took him (Gen 5:24). Just as Adam walked in covenant fellowship with God before the fall, so Enoch
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walked in renewed covenantal relationship with God. Note that walking 'with or before the the Lord' and 'in his
law' will hereafter become synonymous with maintaining covenant obligations.
(b) The Noahic Covenant
Further, we read of God's condescension to Noah. Noah, like Enoch, walkedwith God (Gen 6:9). In Gen. 6:18 we
are introduced, for the first time, to the term covenant or . But with thee will I establish my covenant; and
thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. We don't have to look
far to note Noah's response12 to God's promise and grace. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded
him, so did he (Gen. 6:22). We read of Noah's altar and God's response in Gen. 8:20-22. Note again the perpetual
nature of this covenant seen in two designations. First, God says, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and
with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you... (Gen. 9:9-10) signifying that the
obligation of this covenant fell upon the seed after Noah. Second, God signified his promise by a covenant sign, a
rainbow. By this he said that, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there
any more be a flood to destroy the earth (Gen 9:11). As long as there is a rainbow in the sky, or God changed his
covenant sign, his covenant perpetual.Therefore so is humanity's obligation.
(c) The Abrahamic Covenant
The term covenant in regards to God's covenant with Abraham is found once in Gen. 15, and ten times in Gen.
17. And I willestablish my covenantbetween me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an
everlastingcovenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed
after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be
their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in
their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every
man child among you shall be circumcised (Gen. 17:7-10). Here the covenant is called 'everlasting' which could
only apply to God's covenant of grace; and which 'no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto' 13being promised by God,
12 It is interesting to note that Noah does not respond, God, what is a covenant? One speculates on the understanding of the Sethites of thisconcept.
13 Gal 3:15. This is a paper on Old Testament Biblical Theology, but one would benefit by visiting Paul's argument in Gal. 3, showing that if thecovenants between men are binding, then God's covenant Is also binding by his promised word to Christ and therefore to his own.
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Further, this covenant is to be kept by Abraham and his seed after him, therefore it perpetually binds future
generations. Theologically, it is said that covenanting is of descending obligation.
We read of Abram's response of faith. He believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness (Gen
15:6). Abram's faith was rooted in God's covenant of grace in which he received and rested in the salvation of the
Lord. We see Abraham living by his faith, for example, when he did not accept anything from the hand of the king
of Sodom, or when he bargained for God's mercy for Sodom and Gomorrah, 14or when he sought a wife for his son
in order to be a blessing to the nations.
As God promised Abraham that he would give him a seed to bless the nations, so Isaac too was brought into this
covenant. God gave circumcision (Gen. 17:10-27; 21:4) as another covenant sign and seal, representing Christ and
his benefits. And since it was to be applied to the infant, again we see the perpetual nature intended by God in
Abraham's covenanting. The LORD appeared to Isaac in Gerar15 and Beersheba and said, I am the God of
Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant
Abraham's sake. Isaac responds to God's covenant mercy by building an altar there and he called upon the
name of the LORD.16 We can safely say that Isaac responded to God based on that which his circumcision
signified, namely a circumcised heart, a softened heart of faith secured by the grace of this covenant-keeping God.
If this was not the purpose of circumcision, then what did God mean when he said, my covenantshall be in your
flesh for an everlastingcovenant (Gen. 17:13).
Jacob too covenanted in response to God extending his grace to the sons of Abraham. We read of Jacob fleeing
from his brother Esau in Gen. 28, and when he takes rest in Haran the LORD visits him in his sleep and extends his
covenant grace to Jacob. Jacob foolishly tries to bargain with God with a vow, thinking that his vowing was the
14 It's curious why Abraham stops short of asking if God would spare the city forone righteous man. Some have suggested that he didn't knowa righteous one apart from God, but based on his bargaining with God he displayed faith in the unity of God's mercy and justice.
15 Gen 26:2-5 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in thisland, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oathwhich I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all thesecountries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, mycommandments, my statutes, and my laws.
16 Gen. 26:23-25. There is an interesting account of Isaac entering into a covenant with another man, Abimelech after sees the way that Isaachas been blessed by the LORD. We are not dealing with covenanting between men, but between God and men in this paper.
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means to securing God's favor and blessing. Jacob had to be confronted by his own sin through interactions of
another 'heel-grabber', his uncle Laban. Twenty years later Jacob recalled the promises of God (Gen. 32:9-12, 24-
32), and when he wrestled with God, he confessed that he lived up to his name as a supplanter. Here he became a
sincere covenanter, 'leaning' by faith upon God's grace. Altars were also prominent with Jacob, but what is more
noteworthy are the names assigned to these altars: El-elohe-Israel, i.e. " God, the God of Israel"17 (Gen 33:20)
and El-beth-el, i.e. The God of Beth-el (Gen 35:7).
Before moving onto Moses, note Joseph's faith in God and his response to God's covenant. Joseph showed time and
again that he was a covenanter, responding in faith to God's grace and promise. He refused to lie with Potipher's
wife for he said, how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? (Gen. 39:9). He declared God's
name, crediting the Lord with the future famine to Pharaoh saying, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath
shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do (Gen. 41:25). He testified to his brothers that God had made him lord of
all Egypt (Gen. 45:9), and though they intended evil against him, " God meant it unto good,...to save much people
alive" (Gen 50:20). God intended to bless the nations by Joseph, the seed of Abraham. This is covenant fulfillment!
(d) The Mosaic Covenant
Though the Israelites found themselves removed from the fame and rule of Joseph and enslaved by the Egyptians,
they remained hopeful in God's covenant promises to Abraham. God also remembered his covenant promises to
Abraham which is why he heard their cries and knew them (Ex 2:23-25). Moses too believed in a covenant
deliverance of God's people. This is why he defends the Hebrew by killing the Egyptian task-master, though it
would seem that it was not his time to deliver them.
We soon read of God's condescension upon Moses in the wilderness and offers to the Israelites his redemption and,
with it, the ordinance of covenanting, And I will take you to me for a people, and I willbe to you a God: and ye
shall know that I [am] the LORDyour God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians (Ex
6:7). The plagues were a sure sign of God's covenant faithfulness. And in the midst of God's conquering the false
17 Jacob is declaring that God is his covenant God.
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gods of Egypt he sends another covenant sign, the Passover (Ex. 12). Here is a gospel picture of sacrificial
atonement, redemption, judgment and covenanting. This meal was intended to be a perpetual remembrance of the
deliverance of Yahveh. It marked the new year, symbolic of starting again; and it included an exercise for
catechizing the covenant children, calling them to take hold of God by faith in his grace and covenant mercy.
Time and again, God confirms this with his people, and they respond with promises of faith and obedience. Now
therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me
above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation...And
Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD
commanded him. and all of the people covenanted, saying, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do (Ex 19:5-
8). So valuable was God's covenant that it was put in a book, and when read, the people covenanted with God
again, saying, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient (Ex 24:7).
God continued to confirm his vow and oath, I [am] the LORD your God, which have separated you from [other]
people (Lev 20:24) and I willwalkamong you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people (Lev 26:12).
This was to remind them that he was in their midst helping them in their vow and oath, calling them to walk in faith
and repentance with him by their side. In regards to covenantal worship, the prescribed tabernacle (God visiting
man), furniture and priesthood (a mediatorial office) were added to the altar.
In Moses' lifetime we see a covenant renewal as well. Those who covenanted with God in Horeb died in the
wilderness due to their rebellion to God. They maintained a covenant-breaking bringing the covenant curses upon
themselves, so God renewed his covenant with their children saying, The LORD our God made a covenant with us
in Horeb.The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this
day (Dt 5:2-3). This is the essence of the book of Deuteronomy, or Second Law; God renewing his covenant of
grace with the next generation who were about to enter the land promised to Abraham. In this book we have some
amazing covenanting statements. I mention two briefly. Note what is in bold. This marks the traits we have seen in
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former covenanting. Abraham's covenanting is a seed which stems in the covenanting at Horeb and here blossoms
in the plains of Moab. Here is a covenant-response, resting in God's grace and faithfulness, where promises are
made to believe and do what God reveals and requires by his Word, calling on his name for their help.
Thou hastavouchedthe LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keephis statutes, andhis
commandments, andhis judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:18
Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains ofyour tribes, your elders, andyour
officers, with all the men of Israel, Yourlittle ones,yourwives, andthy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer
of thy wood to the drawer of thy water: That thou shouldestenter into covenantwith the LORD thy God, and into
his oath, which the LORD thy Godmaketh with thee this day: That he may establish thee to day fora people unto
himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.Neither with you only do I make this covenantand this oath; But with him that
standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, andalso with him that is not here with us this day:19
(e) The Joshuaic Covenant
In those forty years of wandering, the people were without the covenantal means of grace. So in Josh 5 we find that
the Israelites covenanted both in circumcision and in the celebration of the passover. They did this in remembrance
of God's covenant grace and promise. God responded, saying to Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach
of Egypt from off you (Josh 5:9).
Essentially, the book is God fulfilling his covenant obligations by conquering and dividing the promised land. At
the end of it all Joshua calls the people to covenant-response to God's faithfulness to what he has promised and his
grace, as opposed to the powerless gods of Egypt and Canaan. If it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose
18 Dt 26:17, amazing that we see all of these themes of former covenanting joined in one statement.19 Dt 29:10-15. Note v ss18-19 addresses the problem of the heart, going after false gods like the other nations and then deceiving self by
claiming the promises of the covenant of the LORD, so He promises to circumcise the heart, showing what God does to bring his people intocovenant with himthe thing signified by circumcisionDeut 30:6And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thyseed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
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you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the
flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.20
They recall God's works In their covenanting, the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake
the LORD, to serve other gods; For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land
of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way
wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: And the LORD drave out from before us all
the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.
Joshua challenges the people. They were tempted to take covenanting lightly. Though they may not vowwhich
would be wrongit would have been worse to vow and not pay. Joshua is trying to stir them up to sincere
covenanting, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your
transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt,
and consume you, after that he hath done you good. And the people said, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve
him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among
you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God
will we serve, and his voice will we obey. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a
statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great
stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
(f) The Davidic Covenant
When David becomes king it says, Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made
a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word
of the LORD by Samuel (1Chr 11:3). He did it before the Lord, because he called on God to be witness to the
20 The whole account is found in Josh. 24:15-26.
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truth and sincerity of his covenant as Judge.
David was known in his early years as a great warrior, and in his prime as the most celebrated king of Israel, yet
David had an unmatched zeal for the worship and glory of the Lord. Not only did he revive the tabernacle worship
of Israel, but petitioned the Lord to build a house of prayer and adoration for him. We read of God's response in 2
Sam 7, where God tells David that he does not intend for David to build his house. Instead, David's seed, God's
own son, would establish the house of the Lord.
In response to this word of God's gracious covenant David prays and blesses God for his condescension, recounting
how the Lord has redeemed them in former days and has given them a name, the people of Yahveh. For thou hast
confirmedto thyselfthy people Israel [to be] a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God
(v24). And now God was establishing David by the servant of the Lord, the seed of David, by Jesus Christ. David is
noting that this is a further extension of God's covenant of grace, already promised to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and
Israel. God was revealing that his promise to Abraham would continue in promise through David.
We see the sons of David, following in David's footsteps, using the ordinance of covenanting according to their
office, to call the people to faith, repentance and renewal to covenantal engagements. For example:
Asa (2 Chron 15:12-15) Note their understanding of their descending obligation to seek the LORD God of
their fathers. Here they also destroy false worship.
Jehoiada (2 Chron 23:16-21) Notice that Jehoiada, being a priest, is careful not to usurp the authority of the
king. And after covenanting, false worship was removed from the Temple.
Hezekiah, concerned for the purity of the Law and the Temple, speaks of his intention for the people to
covenant with the Lord (2 Chron 29:10). The verb return occurs 4 times in 30:6-9. Even zeal for the
passover was restored and God healed their impurities.
Josiah (2 Chron 34:29-33; 2 Kings 23:3-5) When the Law was recovered and read before the people that
they responded by covenanting with God, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this
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book. Further, they responded to God's covenant of grace in celebration of the Passover. This speaks
explicitly of the perpetual, descending obligation of covenanting, learned not from the last generation, but
from the Word of God!
Before looking at the last Old Testament period of restoration, note what the Psalter21 says not only about God
condescending to man in covenant, but also concerning man's covenanting response:
Ps 25:10,14 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his
testimonies...The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
Ps 44:17 All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither...dealt falsely in thy covenant.
Psalm 50 addresses two kinds of people. In vs5 he calls his saints unto him, "those that have made a
covenant with me by sacrifice." He tells them what he really wants from them is not sacrifice but faith,
"Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of
trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." (vs14-15) Then God addresses these wicked who
have falsely covenanted. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or
that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words
behind thee. (vs16) He concludes, But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon
them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to
those that remember his commandments to do them. (vs17-18)
Ps 76:11 Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God:
We see the pattern of God's faithfulness proceeding throughout generations in Ps. 105:8-10, He hath
remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which
covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law,
and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
21 All of the Wisdom literature has much to contribute to this study, but due to constraints and limitations the Psalter will be sufficient.
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(g) The Restoration Period
God's people are taken in captivity for breaking their covenant obligations;And the king of Assyria did carry away
Israel unto Assyria,...Because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant,
and all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them. (2 Kg 18:11-12)22
However, their restoration is also foretold in, for example, Jer 29-34. And the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi,
Haggai, and Zechariah tell this history of restoration. Essentially their restoration is renewed faith in the covenant
of the grace of God. We see this clearly in Ezra and Nehemiah. Consider:
Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them,
according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done
according to the law. Arise; for this matterbelongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and
do it. Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according
to this word. And they sware. (Ezra 10:3-5)
And Nehemiah, which [is] the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said
unto all the people, This day [is] holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept,
when they heard the words of the law...And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our
princes, Levites, andpriests, seal unto it...They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and
into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the
commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes; (Neh 8:9ff; 9:38; 10:29).
The key to understanding these passages is to understand that God's the one who changes their hearts to turn to the
Lord in faith, to be covenanters who respond to his gracious covenant (Ezek 36:25-29; Jer 31:31-34; 32:37-41).
22 See also Ezekiel 1-35; 2 Kings 17, Jer 11, Lamentations 1-5, Hos 10
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2 What did these saints commit to do in their covenanting?
Having spent the majority of this paper establishing the definition of religious covenanting, its relationship to the
covenant of grace, its perpetual nature, and descending obligation, we now want to briefly look at the engagements
these covenanters committed to in their covenanting response to God.
Here I would like to quote a summary statement of the Reformed Presbyterian minister, David Scott,
The requirements of the divine law form the matter of scriptural covenanting. By divine law, I mean not
only the summary of moral duty contained in the Decalogue; but, all that by which God makes known to
us the obligations which we owe to Him: and expressed in scripture by a variety of names; such, as the
law, testimonies, statutes, precepts and commandments. These are the matter of covenanting; of that to
which Christians bind themselves when they enter into covenant with God. An individual, a church, or a
nation may not bind themselves to do any thing which is at variance with the revealed will of God: indeed
no moral obligation can be constituted, to do that which is inconsistent with the divine will...The matter
of a covenant should not include any thing impossible...To this charge the covenanters do not stand
exposed by making the law of God the matter of covenant engagement. True, 'SC 82'23 But, Christians in
perfect consistency with this may bind themselves by covenant to take the law of God as the rule of life:
and to aim at conformity with its requisitions, in every part of their conduct. While Christians feel their
own weakness, and incompetency, they rely on the promised aid of Christ to enable them to discharge all
required duties. "My grace shall be sufficient for thee." And, in the experience of this promise being
fulfilled, they can say with Paul, "Phil 4:13."2425
In summary, when the Old Testament covenanters identified their commitments they looked to the moral law of
God for its binding duties. Here are examples of this explicit commitment by the covenanter in each covenant age.
(b) The Noahic Covenant
Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. (Gen 6:22; 7:5)
23 Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q. 82. Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? Answ. No mere man, since the fall, isable in this l ife perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them in thought, word, and deed.
24 Phil 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."25 Scott, David. Distinctive Principles of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Albany: Printed by J. Munsell, 1841. 19-21.
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(c) The Abrahamic Covenant
For I [the LORD] know him [Abraham], that he will command his children and his household after him,
and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon
Abraham that which he hath spoken of him...Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge,
my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. (Gen 18:19; 26:5)
(d) The Mosaic Covenant
This is the covenant in which the Decalogue was given, essentially to show their inability to keep it, and their need
for an alien righteousness. However the law could also be done in love and faith.
And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the
LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the
mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have
written; that thou mayest teach them. (Ex 24:7,12)
This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore
keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be
thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and
to hearken unto his voice: (Dt 26:16-17)
Gather the people together, men,...women, and children, and thy stranger that [is] within thy gates, that they
may hear, and...learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: (Dt 31:12)
(e) The Joshuaic Covenant
And the people said...The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. (Josh 24:24)
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(f) Davidic Covenant
And [Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the
commandment. (2 Chr 14:4)
And like unto him [Josiah] was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and
with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any
like him. (2 Kg 23:25)
(g) The Restoration Period
They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law,
which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD
our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes; (Neh 10:29)
Someone may ask, What about the circumstantial particulars in a covenant that don't apply to a later context? We
see the covenant in Nehemiah speaking to this. Presbyterian minister, Alexander Allan writes,
Numerous as the duties incumbent upon us are, no one of them must be excluded from our covenant
engagements. People may no doubt have a special respect on some occasions to particular duties, to the
neglect of which they are under more than ordinary temptations; but a voluntary and intentionaloverlooking of any duty, in bringing themselves under these engagements, were a sad indication of a
heart not right with God. "I shall not be ashamed," says David, "when I have a respect to all thy
commandments." The covenanters in the days of Nehemiah were in peculiar hazard of neglecting the
duties of sanctifying the sabbath, of showing mercy to the poor, of contributing of their substance to
religious purposes, and of preserving proper separation betwixt themselves and their heathen neighbors;
they accordingly paid a most special attention to these in that work, and even made a specification of
them by name in their covenant-bond. This, however, they did not in a way of overlooking other things;
but by a general clause, they likewise pledged themselves to study the conscientious discharge of every
duty which they owed either to God or man.26
26 Allan, Alexander.A View of Religious Covenanting. Schenectady: I. Riggs, Union St., 1820. 28.
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And Scott adds,
The people of God, under the ancient economy, whether considered as a church or a civil commonwealth,
were bound by divine authority to perform duties which werepeculiarto that state of things. And these, of
course, were included in their ecclesiastical and national covenants; because such were a part of the
revealed will of God. But, while with the abrogation of the Jewish economy these peculiarities were also
abrogated, those duties which were not peculiar, but common to the present as well as the past
dispensation of the church remain with unabated force. These duties, however, which are common to
every dispensation, and of universal obligation, form the prominent matter of social covenanting. These
are specified and enumerated, and brought before the view of the covenanters, directly, as the matter
covenanted to be performed. On the other hand, such duties as were peculiar to the Jewish dispensation
are not directly brought forward as the matter of covenant engagement--they are only inferentially
included. Such peculiarities were contingent to a particular dispensation; but not essential to social
covenanting. The proper matter of covenanting, common to every dispensation, are moral duties, and
these are of universal obligation.27
We see the same circumstantial particulars based on the application of the moral law in Ezra's covenant, And
Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against
our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this
thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of
them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it
be done according to the law (Ezra 10:2-3). The moral law and it's social, ecclesiastical, and familial application
is only what we bind ourselves to do.
27 Scott, David. Distinctive Principles of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Albany: Printed by J. Munsell, 1841. 36-37.
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3 What's the expectation in the Old Testament of the use of the ordinance of covenanting in the Gospel age?
In conclusion, I want to simply add the Scriptures which identify the Old Testament expectation that covenanting
would have a restoring and renewing place in the Church under the Gospel and that it would be used by the nations
who in the latter day would come to Christ and respond to his covenant of grace.
Ps 2:10-12 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with
fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath
is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Ps 68:31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
Isa 2:1-4 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to
pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall
go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and
he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the
word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people:
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isa 19:18-25 In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to
the LORD of hosts...he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. And the
LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do
sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it ....In that day shall
Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria...LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my
people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
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Isa 42:1-25 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my
spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles...He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he
have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God the LORD...I will give
thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles ; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the
prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house...The LORD is well pleased
for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
Isa 44:1-5 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen...For I will pour my spirit
upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring...One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall
call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and
surname himself by the name of Israel.
Isa 45:22-23 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto
me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.28
Isa 65:1-25...And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen 29: for the Lord GOD shall slay
thee, and call his servants by another name: That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in
the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth ; because the former
troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes. For, behold, I create new heavens and a
new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind...30
Jer 4:1-3 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine
abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in
truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall
they glory. For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and
sow not among thorns.
28 Rom 14:11, Rev 11:1529 Gal 3:6-1330 What follows is the Millennium cross reference from Rev. 20-21
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Hos 1:11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint
themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.31
Mic 4:1-13 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the
house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law
shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem...nation shall not lift up a sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig
tree...For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the
LORD our God for ever and ever...
I think that I have sufficiently showed: First, God's condescension by way of covenant with humanity, through the
person, work and teaching of Jesus Christ, required a covenanting response from individuals, as well as the church
and the nations. Second, that the expectation of the people of God in the former dispensation was that God will use
this ordinance to restore his people to Jesus, according to his covenant promises, and draw the nations into Christ's
covenant of grace.
31 Rom 9:24-26
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