Returning to Psalm 2, the second Psalm to read today, Psalm number 2, and we'll read the Psalm together. Psalm number 2. The word of God says, why do the heathen rage? The people imagine a vain thing. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak on to them in his wrath. vex them in his sore displeasure yet have I set my keen upon my holy hell of Zion I will declare the decree the Lord has said on to me thou art my son this day have I begotten thee Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, and thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 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. Amen, and we'll end our reading at the end of the psalm. Let's stand, please, for a brief word of prayer. Our eternal God, we thank thee that we can sing. that we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Rejoice in redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of our sins. And we shall remember, O God, the great price paid by our Redeemer soon as we meet around the table. But Lord, as we now come to meet around the Word, we cry that our hearts will be prepared. And as a result of all that we will hear today, Our hearts will go out in love to Thee once again, as we remember all that God has done for us in and through His dear Son. Grant, Lord, now the help of Thy Spirit, enabling, O God, this preacher, and grant, O God, a blessing for every waiting soul and every prepared heart. We pray these prayers in our Savior's precious name. Amen and amen. You may be seated. Not all theologians are agreed upon the number and the names of the various covenants that we come to read off within the Word of God. For example, the covenant of works, that covenant between God and the representative of the human race, Adam, is referred to some as the covenant of works. Others refer to it as the covenant of nature. Others refer to it as the covenant of creation, whilst others speak of it as the covenant of life. It is no different when we come to the other main covenant that we come to consider and encounter within the scripture. The covenant between God and mankind. Some refer to it as the covenant of redemption, others as the covenant of grace, whilst others refer to it as the covenant of mercy. And so there needs to be at least some comment made as to the names, so that we might understand what we are speaking about when we refer to the various covenants that we meet within Scripture. Now, mercy. Mercy stands at the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to works. Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve. Grace is God giving us what we don't deserve, but mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve. And it is mercy that Dr. Cairns and W. G. T. Shedd use as an umbrella term under which they then place the covenants of redemption and of grace. In other words, there are two aspects associated with this covenant of mercy. First, There is an agreement, a covenant between God the Father and God the Son. And we will come to that aspect of the covenant of mercy today, so I'll say no more. But secondly, there then is an agreement, a covenant between the Father and His elect people through Christ the representative of His people. And as a result, all blessings and benefits come to us through him and by Christ's redemption." And really that is the greatest aspect of the covenant of mercy. I need to emphasize that there are not two covenants. When we think of the covenant of mercy, there is one covenant. There are yet two interconnecting aspects to it. Redemption being, we would say, the Godward part between the Father and the Son, and then grace between God and his elect people. The theologian WTG shared, I said of him before, he said, though this distinction between the covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace is favored by scriptural statements, does not follow that there are two separate independent covenants. The covenants of grace and redemption are two modes or two phases of the one evangelical covenant of mercy. So the question is, which of the covenants do we look at first? Do we start with the covenant of works and man's failure to comply with the terms of that covenant? Or do we look at the covenant of mercy from the grace aspect of it? Well, I believe that we should look at them chronologically and with God, not man, center stage. And whenever we do that, we come to find ourselves transported back back into eternity and to the place where God meets in the persons of his sacred trinity, in the councils of eternity past, where they established a covenant within the Godhead, the covenant of redemption between God the Father and between God the Son. And so it is the covenant of redemption that we want to speak upon today. As with any subject matter, Within this place, we need to ask ourselves, is there any scriptural basis, any scriptural evidence for the covenant of redemption within the pages of Holy Scripture? You'll not read concerning, read these three specific words, covenant of redemption. But though you do not read them, yet we find that the aspects of such a covenant are clearly and plainly presented within the scriptures of Holy Truth. Just because the word does not appear, the phrase does not appear, does not mean that it does not exist. Because if that was true, then we could say the same concerning the Trinity. Because we do not read the word Trinity in Scripture, and yet we do see presented on the pages of Scripture the doctrine of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are a number of references And I want to quote, you can turn there if you so desire. But these references, they speak to us of the eternal purpose of God. The purpose of God in eternity past. God had predestinated. He had foreordained individuals to become partakers of life, eternal life. For that to happen, there had to be an agreement within the Trinity, between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These references present to us various aspects of redemption, salvation, that really find their origin, not in time, but in eternity past. Ephesians 1 verse 4, we read these words, according as He hath chosen us in Him, before the foundation of the world. We should be holy and without blame before him in love. I want you to notice that this choosing, this election, this selection, took place before the foundation of the world. Before time was ever created, before this world was ever fashioned and spoken into being, there was a choice, a selection made. within the human race of a people who would become those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 3 verse 11, we read, according to the eternal purpose which he hath purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now there's a very plain reference in Scripture to an eternal purpose. A plan, we would say, a scheme. And notice the timing of it. This is an eternal purpose. This is one that finds itself established in eternity past. God formed, fashioned a plan which was eternal in reference to the salvation of our people. And through Christ, that plan is executed. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13, But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. That word there in 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13, the word beginning, can also be translated eternity. And so we could read it like this, because God hath from eternity chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. Here we have again the doctrine of eternal election. In eternity past, God elected a people to be redeemed. The last reference is there in 2 Timothy 1 verse 9. We read, "...who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ before the world began." Paul's speaking of the salvation of these individuals, or of Timothy and those he was writing to. He spoke about God's purpose and his grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. You know, our salvation, it can be traced further back than the day or the night that you trusted in Jesus Christ. Our salvation can be traced back to before the world began. God purposed. to save a people. Now we find in redemption a division of labor. We could call it like that taking place within the Godhead and among the members of the triune Godhead. We could put it like this. The Father is the originator of redemption. He originates redemption. We could say that the Son is the executor of redemption. In other words, He secures redemption for His people. And then finally, God the Holy Spirit is the applier of redemption. Father, the originator, the Son, the executor, and the Spirit, He is the applier. The entire triune Godhead is involved in the redemption of the sinner. And this can only be the result of a voluntary agreement among the persons of the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit agreed on who would do what with regard to the various aspects of redemption's plan before mankind ever fell. And they agreed upon what each would do with regard to redemption, the redemption of man who had not yet even been created, man who had not even yet fallen. And yet God had a plan in place, a way of rescue, a scheme of salvation whereby fallen man could be redeemed, purchased, reconciled to God. Isn't that a wonderful thought? To think that God had mankind upon his mind in eternity past and that these individuals within the Godhead came together in the unity of the Godhead to execute and to design and then fully in the fullness of time execute redemption's plan now if you remember back to last week you'll remember that there are various elements to any covenant we mentioned three there are the parties to the covenant there is there are the promises to any covenant and then there are and there is the penalty with regard to the covenant. Well, I want to take a number of those, the first two of them, and then add another few with regard to this covenant of redemption. It was drawn up in eternity past. I want you to consider in the first place the parties, the parties to the covenant of redemption. As I said last week, there always needs to be at least two parties for any covenant, any agreement to be agreed upon. And when it comes to the covenant of redemption, we find that this covenant was between the Father and the Son, exclusively. Between the Father and the Son. Let me point you to a number of passages that speak of that very thing. The eternal covenant established between the Father and the Son. Psalm number 2, that's why we read it. Psalm number 2, verse 8 and 9, we read these words. Sorry, verse number 7 and 8. I will declare the decree. The Lord has said unto me, Thou art my son. This day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Here we find ourselves brought into the council of peace, into the very council of eternity past, when God is purposing what he is going to do in this world. And we find here this word, I will declare the decree you know that word decree it comes from a root word which originally meant covenant read it like that he says i will declare the covenant here is a covenant between the father and the son and what does the son ask What does the Son ask for, or what is He encouraged to ask for, on the fulfillment of the terms of the covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace, the covenant of mercy? What does He ask for? He is to ask for the heathen, for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. This was going to be the Savior's reward. As He fulfills the terms of the covenant, He is going to be rewarded by a people. Do you think of that? Because that is who we are. We are part of what He asked for. We were heathen. We were foreigners from the covenants of promise. We were strangers. We were afar off. We were at a distance from God. We live in the uttermost parts of the earth, do we not? Christ, he asked for us, and he was granted us as a possession because of what he agreed with the Father. And so there is the thought here of covenant. I will declare the covenant. And then over there in Psalm 89, if you're in the book of Psalms, you should be. Psalm 89 and the verse number 3. Let's read these words. I have made a covenant with my chosen. I have sworn on to David my servant. You know, it's very evident as you read through Psalm 89, and we don't have time to read through it today, but it becomes very evident that this Psalm is messianic. You may say, well, what does that mean, preacher? Well, that simply means that this psalm is all about Jesus Christ. This is a psalm all about this Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so this term, my chosen, is not referring to King David. But rather it's referring to David's greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Chosen One. He is the elect servant, as Isaiah speaks of Him. He is the Messiah. He is the Christ of God. And we're told that it is with the Chosen One. Who is the Chosen One? It's Christ! Christ being the chosen one, we read here that the Father made a covenant with his chosen, his well, his only begotten, his much loved Son. He has made a covenant. And so we have the Father here in the word I, and then we have my chosen, we have Christ. And we see there's a covenant made between the Father and between The son thy seed, he said, will I establish forever, build up thy throne to all generations. This isn't speaking about David's throne. No, no, no, how could it speak of David's throne? Is there a king in Israel today? No, there's no earthly king. Kings of Israel and of Judah, they no longer reign upon the throne in Jerusalem. And so, we must then ask ourselves the question, has God lied? Is there a lie here? Has God not been establishing His seat and building up the throne to all generations? This is speaking about Christ's reign. The reign of Christ, and he's on the throne, not of Israel, but he's on the throne of heaven today. He's on the throne. He has set his king upon the holy hell. Christ is reigning, Christ is ruling, and Christ is over all. Thomas Boston, he said, on heaven's side is God himself, the party proposer. Though he was the party offended, Yet the motion for a covenant comes from Him. On man's side is God's chosen, or the chosen one, for the word of God is singular. The Son, the last Adam. Who else, he said, is fit to be undertaker on man's side? Who else could have been the Father's choice for this vast undertaking? No angel, he said, no man was capable of it, but the Almighty One, whom the Father points out to us as His chosen. It is evident even from these two Psalms that the Father and the Son entered into a covenant with each other, a covenant that predated the fall of man in Eden's garden. Dr. Lloyd-Jones, so well respected, he said this, it is very clear that in particular an agreement, even a covenant, was made between God the Eternal Father and God the Eternal Son. It is quite clear, he said, according to Scripture, that the Son has been made heir of all things, which means that everything in this world was given to him. That is, was, as it were, made over to him. And thus, what I want to emphasize with regard to the parties of the covenant is that man is not part. Man is not a party to the covenant of mercy, the covenant of redemption. Man has no part to play. Mankind has no input to make when it comes to the covenant of redemption. And praise God for that, brethren and sisters. And I say that for this reason. Everything that man puts his hand to ends in disaster, ends in failure, but not with the God-man. Not with the Christ of God. No, everything assigned and tasked to Him is fulfilled by Him. And thank God He has executed it to a complete end. The covenant between the Father and the Son was planned by infinite wisdom. Thus its execution was a complete success. The outworking of it secured for us all, those who know Christ, eternal redemption. And therefore, we need not fear. We need not fear that some part has been overlooked or left unfinished within the covenant of redemption. When we remember that the co-guarantors of it, if I can put it that way, is the Father and the Son, they promised to do has been done, and they shall never go back on the commitments they made within the covenant. It is an eternal covenant. And that brings us to consider the pledges of the covenant of redemption, the pledges because each party pledged to do certain things within the covenant of redemption. And you'll find this truth and this thought brought to our minds as you make your way through the scriptures. You'll not be able to go to a particular and a specific passage of scripture with regard to these pledges, but you can draw them as you make your way through the pages of scripture, what the son pledges to do and what the father pledges to do. In order that this covenant would be not only established, but then executed to its full completion. Think about then with me, God the Son, what did he pledge to do? He pledged to assume our nature. He pledged to take on flesh. The eternal God. The eternal Son. now comes into this world and he takes to himself our nature. He takes to himself our flesh. He humbles himself. He becomes a man. He's born of a woman. He becomes bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. He is to be made like us in all things, yet apart from sin, so that he might be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. And so, within the counsel of eternity, the Son agrees, I will become a man, true man, perfect man, sinless man, but a man I will become. He also pledged that he would be made under the law. He voluntarily undertook to fulfill all righteousness by obeying the law of God and perfectly obeying it in all of its forms. And then he pledged to bear the sins of his people to the tree. That involved him becoming a curse for us He would offer himself as a sacrifice to God. In redemption, in redemption's covenant, Christ committed himself to a life of humiliation and sorrow and suffering that ended in a shameful death upon the cross of Calvary, there forsaken by his Father. Yet he pledged, he pledged that he would bear the sins of his people. I will die for the sinner. I will die for them. I will become their substitute. I will become their surety. I'll become their Savior, their Redeemer. And He pledged to do it. But what did the Father pledge to do? Well, God the Father pledged to do all the needed preparatory work, such as preparing a body for Christ to assume Let me quote those words there in Hebrews 10 in the verse 5, Christ is speaking here and he's speaking to the Father and he says, The Father prepares him a body, a sinless body, a body that knows no sin, no trait of sin. This body is a unique body. Unlike every other body of flesh that was ever prepared for mankind to assume, as they came into the world by physical birth, when Christ came in the incarnation, He had a perfect body, a sinless body, and that body was prepared by the Father. And the Father pledged to do all of the preparatory work. Then He pledged to uphold His Son in all of the tasks that He promised to perform as the Son. Isaiah chapter 42 verse 1, Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom I so delight, that I have put my spirit upon him, and he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. This is again another passage of scripture referring to none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is referred to Christ, or God, as the Father's servant, the elect. But notice he says, whom I uphold. We're told in Luke 22 that the Father in Christ found himself in Gethsemane's garden. There, under the great burden and pressure of the wicked one, as many believe of Satan coming into the garden, we read there in Luke 22 verse 43, and there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. An angel dispatched by the Father to strengthen and encourage his own dear son. And so the Father pledges to do such things. Charles Hodge, he will list a few other things that the Father pledges to do. He said that he would give the Spirit to Christ without measure. He said that he would be ever at his right hand to support and comfort him in his darkest hours of conflict. and the powers of darkness would come, that he would ultimately bruise Satan under his feet, that he would deliver him from the power of death and exalt him to his own right hand in heaven, that all power in heaven and earth would be committed to the Son. These are all the pledges made within the covenant of redemption. You know, when we consider all of the pledges within redemption's plan, we would have to say it was a well-thought-out plan. It wasn't a plan thought up on the quick. It wasn't a mishmash of ideas thrown together in response to unforeseen circumstances arising when man sinned and there was like some type of panic in heaven. How will man at kind ever be redeemed? No, no, no. This predates man's fall. God had foreseen it. God had purposed to save a people out of the human race. It is a plan devised in the eternal mind of God. As we see both the Father and Son fulfilling the pledges of the covenant of redemption, then we can be assured then that whatever promises He has made to us, He will most surely make good on as well. We see his character within the covenant of redemption, father and son, pledging to do certain things and fulfilling those pledges. And if they fulfill those pledges, will he not fulfill the promises he's made to you and I? Joshua said at the end of his life, not one thing have failed. Of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you, all are come to pass upon you, not one thing hath failed thereof." Not one thing failed. Not only parties and pledges within the covenant of redemption, there are promises of the covenant of redemption. And fulfilling all the terms of this covenant of redemption, God the Son was promised by God the Father a number of things as His reward. Let me quickly Listen for you God the Father promised to God the Son that God's good pleasure would prosper through him. Isaiah 53 verse 10. When thou shalt make a soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed and shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. And so God the Father promises that the good pleasure of God would prosper under the hand of the mediator of the new covenant. Secondly, he was promised that he would be given a people as a reward for his sufferings. John 6 verse 37 and 38, Oh that the Father giveth me. When were they given? They were given in the covenant of mercy, in the covenant of redemption. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. And this is the Father's will, which has sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up again in the last day. These ones were given to Christ in the covenant of redemption. They are already given to him. It is past tense. The ones that the Father gave me will come to me. He promised the Son that he would be king over all the elect. We read Psalm 2 verse 6 and 8. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill in Zion. Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thy inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Psalm 72 verse 8 and 11, he shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river on to the ends of the earth. All nations shall serve him. This is not speaking of Solomon, but rather Christ. God the Father promised a fourth thing. He promised that he would have power over all in order to govern for the benefit of his people. Before ascending back to heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, he said these words in Matthew 28 and the verse 18, all power is given unto me in heaven and on earth, given. It was given to him. When was it given? It was given to him in the councils of eternity. It was given to him in the covenant of redemption. The Father promised that he would glorify and He would exalt His Son. And being found in a fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him, given Him a name which is above every name. This was given to Him. When? It was given to Him in the covenant of redemption. These are the promises. Finally, the promise that Christ would be the judge of heaven and earth. It's John 5, 27, and hath given him, speaking of Christ's authority, to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man. Acts 17, 31, because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. There has been an ordination. There is a predetermined. Aition has taken place. Who the judge of all men will be on the last day? And it will be none other than Jesus Christ. This has been ordained, purposed by God. When considering the covenant and its conditional plages and promises, the party then that fulfills the conditions will then they merit what was promised to them. The Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled the terms of the covenant of redemption. Every term he has fulfilled. And therefore he has merited all that was promised to him, and thus he has been given a people. He has been given a people, and those people will come to him. And he does reign as king over his elect people. has one who has been invested with authority and with power. Today he is exalted, today he is glorified and someday he will return to judge the quick and the dead and all things until that day will prosper in his hand until the world's history comes to its intended end. In other words, he has secured and merited all promise to him and all things are now his. all things belong to him. Let me say a very quick word about the perpetuity of the covenant of redemption. When I use the word perpetuity, it really speaks of the everlasting, the eternal nature of the covenant of redemption. It is an eternal decree of an eternal God, beginning in the council of eternity. Its administration has its consequences in time, and ultimately into eternity future. And so we find it embracing eternity past, eternity future, and time in between, if we could think of it in that way. Hebrews 13 verse 20. Now the God of peace had brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. It's an everlasting covenant. Being everlasting then, the covenant has no date of termination. Rather, it will continue forever. That which God established in the covenant of redemption must come to pass. Not a word, not a line, not a letter will be altered. All will come to pass and all shall come to pass. And so it is an everlasting covenant. But my final thought today, very quickly, are the practical uses of the covenant of redemption Really, this is where it brings great comfort to our hearts. How can this truth, these thoughts, be brought together to bring us comfort in these days, practically within our lives? Well, there are three. Can I say in the first place, the covenant of redemption secures the salvation of God's elect. Since God the Father promised his Son a people in the covenant of redemption, then that people must be given to him. because he has met the terms and the conditions of that covenant. He was promised a people. He was promised a people. One preacher said, the elect are completely safe and secure because they have been given by the Father to the Son in the covenant of redemption. And because the Son has done everything that he said he would do, so in this covenant on their behalf, the Son having fulfilled the terms has now secured the salvation of His people. Secondly, the covenant of redemption guarantees that salvation's conditions have been fully met by Christ. The terms of our salvation which were agreed upon by the Father and the Son in the covenant of redemption have been accomplished by Christ and will be applied to His elect down through the ages of time. All that is required of us is for us to repent and to believe and to praise God the rest of our lives and the rest of our days for his salvation. But Christ has met the conditions. That was not left for us to do, but rather Christ as our representative, he met the terms. He fulfilled righteousness. He obeyed the law perfectly. He paid the penalty of the broken law by his death and thereby all conditions have been met by Christ. Thirdly, the covenant of redemption reveals the incredible love that God has for his people. There didn't need to be a plan. There didn't have to be a plan. I think of the fall of the angels, those who went in rebellion with Lucifer. the son of the morning. How they rebelled against God and they fell from their first estate. No plan of salvation for them. Yet God in his good mercy, God in his grace, and God in his infinite wisdom devised a plan whereby he would redeem a people. He would reconcile a people. He would make a people His own. He didn't need to love us, but incredibly He chose to do so. Incredibly. And then whenever you think of that, you know what we are today? Do you know what you are as a Christian? You are a love gift. You are a love gift from the Father to the Son. You were given to Christ by the Father as a love gift. That's what you are today. If that doesn't make you feel special, if that doesn't make you feel privileged, if that doesn't make you feel humble, what would? to think that I was given to the Son as a reward for His sufferings upon the cross. We're coming to the table in just a few moments' time. With these thoughts of this covenant between the Father and the Son, I believe that we should remain and thank Him for redemption, to thank Him for all that He has done for us, to thank Him that He has met the conditions of such a covenant. It's terms no mortal man could ever discharge, yet He did it all. He did it all for me. He did it all for you. May God help us to have hearts full of love for our great Savior and Redeemer even today. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for all engagements made, and we bless Thee, dear Father, for the execution of every term and condition within the covenant of redemption. Rejoice, Lord, that we are part of the promises made over and the pledges made over between the Godhead, that we are part of the elect, those who are redeemed, gathered here today We were given to the Son by the Father. We rejoice, Lord, in thy great love toward us. O grant, dear God, then us to love thee more and more, and grant, dear God, us to appreciate what was undertaken for us on our behalf. We pray that as we meet around thy table, that our love will even intensify more as we remember the sacrifice of Calvary. Answer prayer, we pray these our prayers in Jesus' name. Amen.