Returning today to Genesis chapter 15 for Bible reading. I'll read here because we're going to read the chapter so I'll begin reading as you turn there. But Genesis chapter 15 and the verse number 1. After these things the word of the Lord came on to Abram in a vision saying fear not Abraham or Abram I am my shield and my exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the shirt of my house is as Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed, and though one born in my house is mine heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars if thou art able to number them. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness. He said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of the earl of the Chaldees to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord, God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? He said unto him, take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and led each piece one against another, but the birds divided he not. And when the foils came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and though a horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them. And they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterwards shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. Thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. It came to pass that when the sun went down and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp. that pass between those pieces. In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates, and the Canaanites, and the Chesonites, and the Caramonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephenims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. Amen, and we'll end our reading at the end of chapter 15 of the book of Genesis. Please stand with me for a word of prayer. Our loving Father, we now come to the preaching of thy word. Ever thankful that the doors are open, the congregation is gathered, Lord, whether it be here physically, whether it be, Lord, out in the world, we pray, dear Father, that thy word will be that blessing, challenge, and help To all of us, instruct us, may we be well grounded and founded in the things of God. Lord, may we not be blown about with every wind of doctrine. Lord, we pray that we will always be biblical in our preaching. Lord, taking the great word of God as our textbook, Lord, we Cry to thee therefore, be with us. Fill me with thy spirit and every brother and sister so that they might understand the word of God. Therefore come, help me I pray. Leave me not to myself. Continue to be with us. Give me no sense of my presence. We offer prayer in and through the Savior's precious name. Amen. You may be seated. Over the next little while I want to preach on a number of unrelated subject matters that really the Lord has been impressing upon my heart over the last weeks and months. I suppose when I go on holidays, we really don't go on holidays because it is always a time when I feel that I should seek the Lord and how he should lead and guide with regard what messages, maybe what series to commence within the congregation. However, there has been no particular leading with regard to any specific series. And so, the Lord has been drawing to my attention a number of unrelated subject matters that I want to preach upon. Now you'll come to quickly see as we make our way through the next number of weeks in the will of God, that really, as I've said, there are no connection between them, only that each of them are dealt with by the Spirit of God within the confines of Scripture. Now that should be the rejoicing of your heart today, child of God, to know that the preacher's going to be preaching from the Word of God, not going to be preaching from some scientific journal, you're not going to be preaching from the newsletter, the Belfast Telegraph, but rather we're going to be preaching from the Word of God. You see, we're reminded by Paul when he wrote there to Timothy that the scriptures, those holy scriptures are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect through the furnished onto all good works. As I thought of those words there in 2 Timothy 3 verse 16, I thought to myself, is that what my ministry has been among you? You know folks, there is a need for a balanced ministry. There is a need for a ministry that preaches doctrine. Doctrine, the word of God. The word doctrine is simply teaching, the teaching of scripture. And so there needs to be a doctrinal element in preaching. And then there needs to be reproof. You've probably said I've had enough reproof of your preaching. And I suppose we all need reproof. And then there is correction. Not only reproving a person, but then correcting the person so that they might walk in the right ways of the Lord. And then there must be the instruction in righteousness so that there might be the building up, the edifying of the child of God in their most holy faith. I suppose it will not be until that great day. day of judgment that I will know whether or not I have exercised a faithful ministry among you as a congregation. You see many times we can have as it were, preachers and they preach exclusively doctrine and yet never apply it to the congregation with regard to the reproving and the correcting. And then there are others and they're simply instructing all the time. But another, for a man or a woman to be perfect, to be spiritually mature, they need to sit under an all round ministry, a balanced ministry. And I trust that that has been so and will continue to be so with regard to you as a child of God sitting under the Word of God. But whatever subject matter we deal with within Scripture, we are reminded that it is for our profit and it is for our learning. The theme that I want to preach about over the next number of weeks is that of covenant. Covenant. And I do that because it is by way of covenant that God in grace deals with sinful man. Don't miss what I've said. It is by way of covenant. that God in grace deals with sinful man. Now this message is simply an introductory message, really laying the foundation of what we will be considering over the next few weeks. The first matter that I want to deal with today is the theme of covenant in scripture. the theme of covenant in scripture. Now the concept, the theme of covenant permeates and pervades the whole structure and the entire theological presentation of Holy Scripture. Just a consideration as to the extent to which the word covenant is used in both Old and New Testament attests to that very fact. The word covenant appears 292 times in the word of God in its singular form and three times in its plural form. Two, nine, two times you'll find the word covenant, three times you'll find the word covenants. The word covenant is found no less than 26 times in the very opening book of the word of God, the book of Genesis. And it occurs many, many times in the remaining books of the Pentateuch, those first five books of the Bible, then into the book of Psalms and also into the prophets. But this word covenant is not inconspicuous in its appearance when we enter into the New Testament either. In Luke chapter one and the verse 72, we find that the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was a fulfillment of God's holy covenant. Zacharias said that God through the Christ child had visited his people and I quote nice Luke 1 verse 72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant To remember his holy covenant the sending of Jesus Christ Was a fulfillment of of terms agreed within a covenant. Now the covenant I believe that is spoken of there is the covenant of redemption. Now we'll get in to the various covenants that we find in scripture. And so we'll think of those in coming weeks. The covenant of redemption is that covenant between father and son within the Godhead. The Father and the Son enter into covenant engagement with regard to the redemption of a people from this world. And Jesus Christ's incarnation was part of the fulfillment of terms agreed by the Son and the Father within the covenant of redemption. Christ's visit to this world must be seen within the context of covenant. I don't know if you've ever thought of that. or in that way. When instituting the great memorial feast of the Savior's death, the communion supper, the Savior said these words, this cup is the New Testament or the word is covenant in my blood. And so this remembrance feast is connected with the covenant, the new covenant. his blood when enumerating the special blessings that God had inferred upon the Israelites Paul declared in Romans 9 verse 4 that to them belonged the covenants to the Ephesians since they were reminded in their own regenerate days that they were strangers to the covenants of promise The entire epistle to the Hebrew saints is an exposition of a better covenant of which Christ is the mediator of according to Hebrews 8 and the verse number six. I want to also remind you that the Bible, that Bible that you hold in your hand today is called the book of the covenant. Twice in scripture, that is how the Bible is referred to. Exodus 24 verse 7, Moses refers to the book of the covenant, how it was sprinkled with blood. And then 2 Kings 23 verse 2, another occasion in which the Bible, the word of God, was called the book of the covenant. And so throughout scripture, this theme of covenant occurs time and time again. Now sometimes the covenant is between men. It is a covenant between two men. Other times it is a covenant between God and all of mankind. I suppose that great covenant we think about with regard to all of mankind is a covenant that God established with regard to the flood. And how God established, God drew up a covenant between him and Noah. And through that covenant that he would no longer flood or there would be no longer a flood upon the earth. God would no longer flood the earth again. And the sign of that covenant was the rainbow. And so God made a covenant with all of mankind. And then there are occasions when the covenant is between God and his elect people. his chosen people, his redeemed people. Francis Roberts was an English Puritan of the 17th century. This is what he said, he said, God's covenant administrations are like a thread of gold running through the books of the Old and New Testament. And so, brethren and sisters, in coming weeks we're going to be thinking about a topic that is repeatedly spoken about and majored on within the Word of God. But when's the last time you ever heard a message about Bible covenants? Well, it's major though. Why should we then not deal with the matter that is before us? The repetition and the emphasis by the Spirit of God indicates, at least to me, the importance of such a subject matter. And so I trust that it will be for our profit as we consider this thought of, or this truth, this theme of covenant in scripture. The second matter that needs to be considered and some comments made upon is the word, the term covenant. What it means, what it means. This will give us a little understanding of what we're talking about as we think of this word or this theme covenant. From an English language point of view, the term covenant comes from a Latin word Convenir. Convenir. Now you don't need to remember it. I'm not going to quiz you whenever you leave the gates, so don't be worrying about that. But that word simply means a coming together. A coming together. You think of that. You think of covenant. We could employ a modern day term, contract. We know what contracts are. Well, such is the same with regard to covenant. There is a coming together. And when we look at the etymology of this English word covenant, It presupposes that there are at least two, two parties that come together and they make a contract with each another. They agree on certain promises, they agree on stipulations, they agree on privileges, they agree on the responsibilities with regard to the covenant, and also the benefits that are derived from such a covenant. All are brought together when two parties, at least two parties, come together in the drawing up of a covenant or a drawing up of also a compact or a pact or an agreement. That's what the word can be translated. Pact, agreement, obligation, commitment, a solemn promise made binding by an oath. Now this word appears, as I've said, many times within Holy Scripture. And I do think that it would benefit as we consider the word covenant of the various terms that are used in both the Old and the New Testament. Now the Hebrew word used in the Old Testament is the word bereth, B-E-R-I-T-H, B-E-R-I-T-H. As to where that word comes from, there are three possible origins, and they're all very interesting with regard to this word bereth. First of all, it can come, some believe it can come from the word bara, B-A-R-A. That Hebrew word means to cut, to cut. It refers to the cutting of an animal in sacrifice. An activity that often accompanied the making and the ratifying of a covenant. That is why we read Genesis chapter 15 today. Because that chapter brings to our attention the covenant that God made with Abram. and with his seed. We read there in the verse number 18, in the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying unto thy seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt onto the great river, the river Euphrates. And so God enters into a contract, a covenant, into a pact, an agreement with Abraham here in Genesis chapter 18. Now we read the passage. If you are a little squeamish, I'm sure you thought to yourself, what is happening here? Because Abraham is told by God to get some animals together. A heifer of three years, verse number nine, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. And then we notice what Abram does. It says, and he took them, all of these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another, but the birds he divided not. And we find that Abram and then this appearance of a smoking furnace. a burning lamp passing through those pieces. So we have half the animal, the heifer on one side, the other half on the other side, the same with the ram, the same with the she-goat. And so we find Abram passing through and then also this burning lamp passing through. What does this mean? What is it symbolizing? Well, as Abram passed through those divided parts, what he was literally saying to God was that, let this be my fate, if I do not meet the standards and the requirements of this covenant. Let this happen to me, as what has happened to these animals, if I do not make good on my promise. And so it was binding. Now you think about then the dividing of these animals. It involves something. Blood sharing. Blood was shared. Blood was spilled and shared and poured out. And in the grounds of the sharing of blood, there would be the establishment of the covenant. And so it can literally be read, a covenant was cut. Covenant was cut. It brings to our attention the thought of bloodshedding with regard to the establishment and the sealing of a covenant. Then there is another word and it is the word bara, B-A-R-A-H, and that means to eat, to eat. It's also an interesting word because there is the thought of an accompanying feast. An accompanying feast taking place when a covenant was established between two parties. Let's go to an example of that. Again in Genesis 20, sorry, this time Genesis 26. Genesis chapter 26. We'll read from the verse 28. This is a covenant between Isaac and Abimelech taking place. So Genesis 26 verse 28 and they said we saw certainly that the Lord was with thee, and he said, Let there be now an oath between us, even betwixt us, and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt not do us hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace. Thou art now the blessed of the Lord, and he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink And so in light of this covenant between Abimelech and Isaac, we see that there was also an accompanying feast and thereby some believe that this word bereth covenant is derived from this other word bara, B-A-R-A-H, meaning to eat. In light of this, how do we remember the covenant of mercy? covenant of redemption, the covenant of grace. How do we remember it? We remember it at the communion feast. There is a feast associated with our remembrance of what God has done for us in the covenant of grace, the covenant of redemption, the covenant of mercy. Various terms that are used, we'll try and explain them in coming weeks. Another example of that covenant and then an accompanying feast is found in Genesis 31 between Laban and Jacob. We don't have time to read it but you can look at it this afternoon. Again there is a covenant established and then they eat bread. In light of the covenant they eat bread. There is a feast in the context of this covenant being set. And then there is one final Hebrew word, it is the word barar, B-A-R-A-R, and it means to purify ceremonially, to purify ceremonially. We think of covenant of grace, is this not what happens to us as a benefit, as a blessing of such a covenant? Are we not purified? Yes, and purified by the blood of Jesus, by his precious blood. And so these are three root words from which the word covenant, many have suggested which this word covenant is derived from. But we can learn to cut, the thought of bloodshedding. Then that verb to eat, there's a covenant meal. Yes, and also this purifying, this ceremonial purifying that takes place. Such happens when we enjoy the blessings and the benefits of the covenant of grace. There is a New Testament term, and it is the word dytheke, dytheke. Sometimes it is translated covenant, other times it's translated testament in, the New Testament and really it sets forth the idea of a person disposing their inheritance by a will or by covenant. This is what God does. When he enters into a covenant with his people, he undertakes to give to his people an inheritance. We thought about that on Wednesday night. This inheritance that is ours, we are qualified for it. We thought of that on Wednesday night. We're qualified for the inheritance of the saints in light. Well God, in the covenant of redemption, he has purpose to dispose this inheritance to the child of God. And then all the blessings within that inheritance are ours through the death of God's dear son. And so this thought of covenant, there is the thought, there is an inheritance contained within this very word in the New Testament. Now there is another Greek word that could have been used by the Spirit of God. for the word covenant, and it is the word syntheke, syntheke. That word is never used. Now, it was a word that was in Greek literature at the time. It would be translated covenant, but that word was never used by the Spirit of God, and it was never used for the Spirit of God for this particular reason. It conveys the idea of a legal equality. between the two parties within a covenant. In other words, those within this covenant, if this word syndicai or syndicai was used, they are equal partners. That's what that Greek term would mean, equal partners. But brethren and sisters, that can never be so when we come to consider covenant in light of Scripture and the covenant that God has established between God and his people. We are certainly not equal partners. We are not equal partners. No, rather, we are individuals that are subordinate to one who is superior. And thus this word, this word, dytheke or dytheke is used instead of syntheke. We are not equal partners within the covenant of grace. Now, when we consider all that I have said, let me try and summarize very quickly. What we read off in scripture, there are three things that we can say then about this word covenant. Firstly, a covenant brings two parties together. Those two parties may be diametrically opposed to each other at some point, but this covenant brings these two opposing parties together. And it forms a close bond. And an intimate relationship is formed between these two parties within a covenant. Now there's an example of that in scripture. David and Jonathan. David and Jonathan were different men from different places. One was the son of a king, the other the son of a shepherd. One lived in a palace, the other lived in Bethlehem. Probably in a little hovel of a place. One was older, Jonathan being older than David. And yet here were two men and a friendship was formed. Let me read what it says in 1 Samuel 8, verse three. 1 Samuel 8, sorry, 18, verse three. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. I want you to see here in the life of David that this covenant between him and Jonathan, two unlikely parties coming together, it was based, it was founded upon love. This is the reason why it was established, because he loved him as his own soul. This was the origin, this was the reason why this covenant is established between Jonathan and David. Now let's take that, and let's look away from the type, and let's look to the anti-type, the Lord Jesus Christ, David's greater son. And surely we can say that the covenant that is established between Jesus Christ, And His people is based on divine love. Divine love has seen to the establishment of a covenant between God and His people. It is an infinitely greater love, the love that God has for us. And on that grounds, He has established a covenant with us. Secondly, a covenant is often associated with blood sharing. The sharing of blood was essential to the establishment and the ratification of a covenant in Bible times. The covenant of grace and redemption is bound together by the blood of Jesus Christ. Listen to these words in Hebrews 13 verse 20. Now the God of peace brought again from the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Through the blood of the everlasting covenant. And so this truth of blood and covenant is traced throughout scripture. You think of whenever Noah and the covenant is established between him and God with regard to the flood, where was Noah when that covenant was established between him and God? He was at the altar, the place of bloodshedding. And so it is throughout scripture, this thought of bloodshedding. Thirdly, a covenant between God and man is a God-centered covenant. It's not man-centered. It's God-centered. Now, whilst God's people are a party in the covenant, the covenant of grace, it must be understood that we have nothing to offer to the covenant but our obedience to its conditions. That's our part. There are conditions that are set forth within the covenant of grace, and it is ours to simply obey those conditions. That's the only part that we play. It is God who acts in the covenant of grace and not man. You know, maybe an illustration, I try to think of an illustration to maybe try and help understand this God-centeredness when it comes to the covenant that God has entered in with his people. I want you to imagine a world superpower, and it invades another nation, a smaller nation than itself, a nation that cannot defend itself against that superpower. That smaller country may decide to enter into a treaty, into an agreement, into an accord, into a covenant with the invading nation. Obviously, that smaller nation is in no position to negotiate the terms of the peace treaty. Really, it's whatever the superpower decides is really what is decided upon. That nation, that smaller nation, is simply left to accept the terms, to accept the stipulations of the agreement. That's the part that they play. They bring nothing to the table. They have no, we would talk about bargaining chips with the superpower. Really it's death for them if they do not submit themselves to the terms of the contract. And so it's simply for them to obey. those stipulations and so it is in the covenant of grace, man is a fallen creature and we have no right to dictate the terms of the covenant. Rather it is God who drew up the terms and it is for us to obey, to subject ourselves to them and then enjoy the benefits and the blessings that are derived from being at peace with God. What are the terms? It is repentance. Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. I direct your attention to a third matter very quickly. The basic elements of a covenant. This really is giving us, as I said, foundational truths. You think of the different contracts, you think of the different agreements that you've entered into, maybe it's an agreement with an insurance company, maybe it's a contract with a telephone operator, an employer, you may have signed a contract. Covenant, we could call it. Maybe it's some service provider. Well, you'll know that there are at least three parts, elements to such agreements. Firstly, there are the parties to a covenant. I've already mentioned that but it takes at least a minimum of two people to enter in to a covenant. You have the energy provider and the energy consumer, two parties. You have a telephone operator, you have a telephone a telephone consumer. You have a car salesman, you have the person who's buying a car. Two parties, at least two parties. Well, when it comes to the nature of covenants in scripture, you see that there are two kinds of covenant. There is a human covenant, human covenants. There are many different examples of human covenants. I spoke about David and Jonathan, that's one example. Do you know that marriage is a covenant? Marriage is a covenant. Malachi 2 verse 14, the Lord hath been witness against thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou wast dealt treacherously. Yet she is thy companion and the wife of thy covenant. You enter into a covenant when you enter into marriage. Two parties are brought together. They make promises before God and before congregation. And in keeping those promises, blessings and benefits are derived. The breaking of it brings heartache and trouble and pain. And so it is, marriage is a covenant. We see covenants taking place between nations, the nation of Israel and the Gibbonites there in Joshua 9 is an example of that. And so we find that there are covenants, human covenants, and then there are divine covenants. These are covenants that God has made with mankind through a representative head or party. There is a covenant of works, and God entered into that covenant with the first Adam. He was the representative of the entire human race. Adam was the representative of mankind. And God enters a covenant with Adam in the Garden of Eden. The word covenant may not appear in Genesis, But all of the various parts of a covenant are present. Two parties, God and Adam. Promises. If thou does not eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt live. But in the day thereof, thou shalt surely die. And so there are all of the elements of covenant in Genesis and the chapter number two and chapter number three. And then there is the covenant of grace. And God entered into that covenant with the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ as the representative of his people. And so we have parties and the thought of representative heads within those parties. And then there is, as I've said, the covenant of redemption that God the Father and God the Son entered into and which the Son undertook, undertook to meet all the obligations to secure redemption for his people. And so whether it's a human or divine covenant, there are always two parties, either man with man or God with man. And whenever we read the Bible, we find something out about our God, and it's this. We find that he is a covenant-making, and he is a covenant remembering, and he is a covenant keeping God. He keeps his part of the covenants into which he has entered with men and with the Godhead. And that brings tremendous relief to the Christian for having entered into such agreements with God. God cannot and will not break those covenants. His covenant is described as an everlasting covenant. A covenant that endures. His immutability, this covenant, attribute that God cannot change, prohibits God from breaking His covenant engagements. And thereby, having promised to save you, and having promised to keep you, your God being a covenant-keeping God will do that very thing for you. And so there are parties then, there are promises. There are promises. Take example, again, the mobile phone operator. Well, they'll allow you to take and to make telephone calls, send emails, receive text messages, browse and download material from the internet on the proviso that you pay them the monthly fee. And so there's a promise there. with regard to what that mobile phone operator will do, that contract into which you enter, they will fulfill the benefits of that contract if you fulfill the terms of the contract into which you have entered. When God entered into covenant with man, he promised them, he promised them certain blessings on the fulfillment of the terms of the covenant. Sadly, in the covenant of works, mankind failed to meet the covenant's terms. However, Christ, in the covenant of grace, met all its terms. Thereby, he secured the promise of eternal life. That was the promise, eternal life. And the amazing thing, it was the promise in both covenants of works and grace. Life was promised to Adam if he fulfilled that term of probation there in the Garden of Eden. Life was going to be given to Adam. But he failed to meet the terms. He failed to meet the obligations. And thereby, life was forfeited and death followed. Spiritual, physical and ultimately eternal death. There is a third part, and so we have parties, we have promises, there is a penalty. A penalty. There is a penalty of the covenant. You see, failure to meet the terms and conditions of any contract will lead to a penalty having been paid. Again to our example, the mobile phone operator, you don't pay, your services are discontinued. The contract is severed. No longer will you be able to enjoy the benefits of that contract into which you entered. And so as I've already said, in God's covenants, there is a penalty attached to the non-fulfillment of their terms and it is death. Death. These three elements, Parties, promises, and penalty are found in every contract, and we're going to find that to be true over the next couple of weeks. Finally, and quickly, the reasons why we should study the covenants of scripture. Brethren and sisters, without understanding the covenants of God, that God made with himself, that God made with mankind, we're going to struggle to understand a number of important things. We're going to struggle to understand the scriptures. The thing, the structure, the unity of scriptures all hinge on our understanding that God deals with mankind and his people within the context of covenant. It's into the covenantal framework of God's word that all the truths and the doctrines and the events of the Bible fit together. We'll also find we'll struggle to understand the Savior. I've spoken about this already, but let me reinforce it again. The coming of Christ into the world and the work that he came to do, that was all agreed upon in the covenant of redemption. He entered in to that covenant with the Father, that He would come, take on flesh, He would fulfill all righteousness on our behalf, He would then die upon the tree, and then He would be raised again from the dead and ascend back to the Father's right hand, having procured and secured redemption for His people. You'll never understand that if you understand that this was happening because of the covenant, the covenant of redemption. then you'll feel or you'll struggle to understand the sacrifice of Calvary. You see, the sharing of Jesus' blood, what was that? It was the sealing of the covenant of redemption by the mediator of the new covenant. Sealed and ratified by precious blood. And so if we want to understand the sacrifice of our Savior, We then must understand this thought of covenant just as blood had to be shed to dedicate the old covenant so Christ had to die and shed his blood to consecrate the new covenant. Yes, in salvation, we'll fail to understand that if we do not understand the covenants. You see, in the covenants of works, when we place ourselves there, we understand our lost condition. Because we fell on Adam. He was our representative there. He broke the contract. You're the individual who signs the contract of the telephone within your home. You break the contract as the father, the individual, the mother who signed the contract. Everyone in the household, they suffer as a consequence. They suffer as a consequence. And so in Adam, his fall. we suffer the consequences of his fall, for he was there as our representative. Just as humanity was condemned on the basis of Adam's disobedience, so all those who belong to Jesus Christ are justified on the basis of Christ's obedience as their covenant representative head. And so I trust that as we study through this subject matter, that you'll see how important it is and not to be thought lightly of, In conclusion, let me recap what we've learned today. We've learned that the theme of covenant is found over and over again in scripture, in both Old and New Testaments. So we can't dismiss it. We can't turn a blind eye to it, brethren and sisters, it's there. The word covenant in scripture is the thought behind it of an agreement that is ratified by the shedding of blood. Thirdly, all covenants have parties, promises, and penalties attached to them. Lastly, the study of the covenants is vital because the scriptures, the saviour, the sacrifice of Calvary, salvation, will make no sense apart from the framework of the covenants of works, mercy, grace, redemption. And so may God help us in our studies in coming weeks, as we trace this theme throughout the scriptures, and as we remember that our God is a covenant-making, and our God is a covenant-keeping God. May God be pleased to bless his word even to our hearts for Christ's sake. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Our loving Father, we come before thee, And Lord, as we come before thee, we enjoy a benefit of the covenant of grace. Because Lord, we are now the sons of God and daughters of God. And we know by faith, we have access into thy presence, secured for us this great privilege by the Christ of God. And thereby we come to enjoy covenant blessing as we speak freely with thee in prayer. O God, bless the study of thy word in coming weeks. May we come to understand this great theme of scripture. May we come to cherish it and understand it. Lord, bring us to thy house alert week after week. Remove all tiredness and sleepiness from us. May our minds be fully engaged in the word May we not set dear God simply as a sponge, but may we be proactively considering the matters that are before us, and may we find profit to our hearts and to our souls. And so answer prayer, part us with thy blessing, and in thy fear, and bring us again to thy house, bringing others with us. We offer these, our petitions, In the Savior's precious and holy name. Amen.