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The Scriptorium

The Eternal Covenant

God promised His people an eternal and unfailing covenant.

God’s Eternal Covenant: Isaiah 59 (6)

Pray Psalm 105.1-4.

Oh, give thanks to the LORD!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!
Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!

Read Isaiah 58.21.

Reflect.
1. What is God’s covenant? What role do His Word and Spirit have in that covenant? 

2. With whom does God make this covenant? To what ends?

Meditate.
God’s covenant is a recurrent theme in the book of Isaiah, both in looking back and in looking forward. God judged His people and sent them into captivity because they broke the “everlasting covenant” He had made with their fathers and Moses (Is. 24.5). The results of this disobedience were waste, ruin, weeping, and loss of peace (33.8). 

But God would not abandon His people or His covenant. He promised to send His Servant as a new covenant with His people, a covenant which will include the Gentiles, to bring all His people to the light of life and the freedom of salvation (42.6). The Servant is the linchpin of God’s covenant. He makes the covenant effectual for the salvation of God’s people (49.8). He will bring God’s people into the sure and lasting peace they so earnestly desire, the peace of God, which is a primary feature of His covenant (54.10). This covenant is an eternal covenant and, thus, a firm renewal of the covenant Israel had broken, but which now they would keep because of the work of the Servant (55.3) This covenant is all of God’s grace, but His people must “hold fast” to it in order to gain the promised blessings of the Lord (56.6-8). In this covenant, God will bring His people into the justice and love for which He chose and redeemed them (61.8).

That’s an awful lot for God to promise. We might be inclined to wonder, How does He intend to do this? How will the Servant accomplish such a great salvation, and inaugurate such a new and everlasting covenant with God’s people? The Lord tells us in our passage for today: By His Word and Spirit. The Spirit and Word of God are the blueprint and power of the everlasting covenant. He grants them to His people, puts His Word in their mouths and His Spirit in their hearts, and empowers them to know Him and to keep His Word through all generations. Isaiah’s sermon thus ends with a glorious promise of a new, eternal covenant, to be accomplished by the Servant in His eternal Kingdom.

We would have no benefit from God or His covenant whatsoever, unless by His Word and Spirit. He makes the promises effectual for us. It is the Spirit Who gives life. The Word of God is Spirit and life (Jn. 6.63). The life for which God redeemed us, He grants us by His Servant, within His covenant, in the power of His Word and Spirit.

Prepare.
1. God’s covenant is all of grace. What does that mean?

2. The covenant is all of grace, but we must “hold fast” to it to gain its promises. What does that entail?

3. How does God’s covenant come to be transferred to our descendants?

And we ought carefully to observe the word covenant, by which the Prophet points out the greatness and excellence of this promise; for the promises are more extensive, and may be regarded as the stones of the building, while the foundation of it is the covenant, which upholds the whole mass. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Isaiah 59.21

Thank You for Your covenant, Lord! Help me to hold fast to Your promises today by…

Pray Psalm 105.

This is a psalm of praise for our covenant-keeping God. His covenant with Abraham is His covenant with us as well. Thank Him for His faithfulness, and let the final verses lead you to a renewed focus on serving God with gladness.

Sing to the Lord.
Psalm 105 (Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Give thanks unto the Lord Most High; call on His Name, before Him cry! 
Make known His deeds in every land; sing praise for all the works of His hand. 

Glory in God, rejoice in heart, all you who seek His holy part. 
Him and His strength and presence seek; His works proclaim, His judgments speak. 

You holy children of Abraham, You chosen ones of Jacob, stand! 
He is our Lord, of wondrous worth; His judgments are in all the earth. 

He will His covenant faithfully guard – His oath, the promise of His Word. 
That which He to our fathers swore, He will perform forevermore! 

He brought His people from Egypt alive, and made their joy and song revive. 
He made the nations’ land their own, and all the wealth that they had known. 

To them He granted the promised land, the portion of His gracious hand. 
Though they were few, and wandered far, He kept them close within His heart. 

So let us all in our Savior confide, and in His holy Law abide. 
Let us observe His glorious Word, and praise our sovereign, faithful Lord!

T. M. Moore

Where do the prophets fit with the rest of Scripture? How can I be a better student of God’s Word? Our course, Introduction to Biblical Theology, can help you gain a better approach to and understanding of the Scriptures. Watch this brief preview video, then register at The Ailbe Seminary and enroll in this free online course.

Forward today’s lesson to some friends, and challenge them to study with you through this series on Isaiah. Each week’s lessons will be available as a free PDF download at the end of the week. Get a copy for yourself and send the link for the download to your friends. Plan to meet weekly to study Isaiah’s important message.


If you value Scriptorium as a free resource for your walk with the Lord, please consider supporting our work with your gifts and offerings. You can contribute to The Fellowship by clicking the Contribute button  at the website or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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