{"id":2943,"date":"2014-07-12T14:13:32","date_gmt":"2014-07-12T14:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=2943"},"modified":"2014-07-12T14:13:32","modified_gmt":"2014-07-12T14:13:32","slug":"bulletin-edition-219-july-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=2943","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition #219 July 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

The covenant of grace!<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Charles Spurgeon, “The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant!” 1859)<\/p>\n

“The blood of the everlasting <\/em>covenant!” Hebrews 13:20<\/p>\n

Long before the day-star <\/em>knew its place,
\nlong before God had spoken existence <\/em>out of nothing,
\nlong before angel’s wing<\/em> had stirred the unnavigated ether,
\nlong before a solitary song had disturbed the solemnity of the silence<\/em> in which God reigned supreme
\n\u2014 the Father had entered into solemn counsel with Himself, with His Son, and with His Spirit \u2014 and had in that council decreed, determined, purposed, and predestined the salvation of His people!<\/em><\/p>\n

On the Father’s <\/strong>part \u2014 thus ran the covenant. I cannot tell it to you in the glorious celestial<\/em> tongue in which it was written. I am glad to bring it down to the speech which suits to the ear of flesh, and to the heart of a mortal. Thus, I say, ran the covenant in lines like these:
\n“I, the Most High Jehovah, do hereby give <\/em>unto My only begotten and well-beloved Son \u2014 a people<\/em>, countless beyond the number of the stars . . .
\nwho shall be washed <\/em>from sin by Him;
\nwho shall be preserved<\/em>, and kept, and led by Him; and
\nat last, who shall be presented <\/em>before My throne without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing by Him.
\nI covenant by oath, and swear by Myself, because I can swear by no one greater, that these whom I now give <\/em>to Christ \u2014 shall forever be the objects of My eternal love! <\/em>
\nThese, I will forgive <\/em>through the merit of my Son’s blood.
\nTo these, I will give a perfect righteousness<\/em>.
\nThese, I will I adopt <\/em>and make My sons and daughters.
\nAnd these shall reign <\/em>with Me through Christ eternally!”<\/p>\n

The Holy Spirit <\/strong>also, as one of the contracting parties of the covenant, gave His declaration, “I hereby covenant, that all whom the Father gives to the Son \u2014
\nI will in due time quicken<\/em>.
\nI will show them their need of redemption.
\nI will cut off all their groundless hopes, and destroy their refuges of lies.
\nI will bring them to the blood of sprinkling.
\nI will give them faith whereby this blood shall be applied to them.
\nI will work in them every grace.
\nI will keep their faith alive.
\nI will cleanse them and drive out depravity from them.
\nAnd they shall be presented at last, spotless and faultless in Heaven!”
\nThis was the one side of the covenant, which is at this very day being fulfilled and scrupulously kept.<\/p>\n

The Lord Jesus <\/strong>also, as one of the contracting parties of the covenant, gave His declaration, “My Father, on My part, I covenant that in the fullness of time, I will become man. I will live in their wretched world \u2014 and for My people, I keep the law perfectly. I will work out a spotless righteousness for them, which shall be acceptable to the demands of Your just and holy law. In due time, I will bear the sins of all My people. You shall exact all their debts upon Me. By My stripes \u2014 they shall be healed. My Father, I covenant and promise that I will be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross<\/em>. I will magnify Your law, and make it honorable. I will suffer all that My people ought to have suffered. I will endure the curse of Your law \u2014 and all the vials of Your wrath shall be emptied and spent upon My head! I will then rise again, and ascend into Heaven. I will intercede <\/em>for them at Your right hand. I will make Myself responsible for every one of them \u2014 that not one of those whom You have given me, shall ever be lost! I will bring all My sheep of whom, by My blood, you have constituted Me the Shepherd \u2014 I will bring every one safe to You at last!”<\/p>\n

Christ <\/strong>can say of what He promised to do, “It is finished!”<\/em> He has paid the debts of all the elect. He has, for His people and for their redemption \u2014 suffered the whole of wrath divine. Nothing remains now, except that He shall continue to intercede<\/em> for them \u2014 that He may safely bring all His redeemed to glory. All for whom Christ died, shall be pardoned \u2014 all justified \u2014 all adopted.<\/p>\n

The Spirit <\/strong>shall quicken them all, shall give them all faith, shall bring them all to Heaven. And they shall, every one of them, without hindrance, stand accepted in the Beloved.<\/p>\n

The antiquity <\/em>of the covenant of grace demands our grateful attention. It is a truth which tends to elevate the mind. I know of no doctrine more grand than this! It is the very soul and essence of all Scripture! In sitting down and meditating upon it \u2014 I confess my spirit has sometimes been ravished with delight!<\/em><\/p>\n

Can you conceive of the idea, that before all things \u2014 God thought of you? That when as yet He had not made His mountains \u2014 He had thought of you; you, a poor puny worm?\u00a0 Oh this cannot make us proud \u2014 but it must make us feel happy!<\/p>\n

—<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

An infinite love!<\/strong><\/p>\n

(James Smith, “The Love of Christ! The Fullness, Freeness, and Immutability of the Savior’s Grace Displayed!”)<\/p>\n

“And may you have the power to understand<\/em>, as all God’s people should \u2014 how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience<\/em> the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully!” Ephesians 3:18-19<\/p>\n

The love of Christ is an infinite love<\/strong> \u2014 its heights <\/em>and depths<\/em>, its breadths <\/em>and lengths<\/em> \u2014 surpass our knowledge! The whole of His nature <\/em>and perfections <\/em>are thrown into His love, therefore He is said to BE LOVE<\/em>. He cannot love His people more than He does<\/strong> \u2014 nor will He love them less! Until we can comprehend infinity <\/em>and measure eternity<\/em> \u2014 we cannot know the love of Christ to perfection.<\/p>\n

Love in us<\/em> \u2014 rules us; just so, the infinite love of Jesus, rules Him. All that He has ever purposed<\/em>, promised<\/em>, or performed <\/em>for His people \u2014 has flowed from this ocean of divine love! <\/em>He is a globe <\/em>of love \u2014 without beginning or end! He is a sea <\/em>of love \u2014 without fault of defect! Only an infinite intellect can grasp Christ’s love \u2014 only eternity is sufficient to reveal it to our minds. Christ’s love will be always unfolding<\/em> \u2014 but never be fully unfolded. It will be always displaying<\/em> \u2014 but never be fully displayed. We may stand in the center and endeavor to follow its lines \u2014 but Christ’s love defies our powers, and drowns our thoughts in its immensity!<\/p>\n

Christ’s love can never be diverted <\/em>from its objects; it is immutably fixed<\/em> upon them \u2014 and remains fixed forever! Had it been possible to have turned its current, it would have been done long ago; but it is still the river<\/em>, the streams whereof make glad the city of God.<\/p>\n

Having loved His own \u2014 He loves them unto the very end. Nothing present or future, above or below \u2014 can ever separate believers from the love of Jesus!<\/p>\n

On this rock <\/em>they rest \u2014 amidst all the storms<\/em> of life!
\nIn this fortress <\/em>they hide \u2014 when dangers<\/em> of every kind surround them!
\nAt this fountain <\/em>they live \u2014 when every creature-stream is dried up!<\/p>\n

No love is unchangeable \u2014 but the love of Jesus! His love is like the great mountains, and abides forever firm!<\/p>\n

O believer, admire and adore! Jesus continues <\/em>to love you \u2014 amidst all your coldness, darkness, and proneness to wander; therefore He restores your soul and causes <\/em>you to walk in the paths of righteousness. Satan <\/em>may harass and accuse you, the world <\/em>may frown upon and persecute you \u2014 but Jesus rests in His love, and rejoices over you with singing!<\/p>\n

And amidst all the changes <\/em>which we feel within and without, we ask with holy Paul, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? <\/em>Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” And with him we reply, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. I am convinced that nothing can ever <\/em>separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow \u2014 not even the powers of Hell, can separate us from God’s love! No power in the sky above or in the earth below \u2014 indeed, nothing in all creation \u2014 will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord!”<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

COVENANT FAITHFULNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThough the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor My covenant of peace be removed,\u201d says the Lord, who has compassion on you (Isaiah 54:10). The mountains are the most stable objects in the material world\u2014nature\u2019s noblest emblem of immutability. But these have \u201cchange\u201d written upon their stupendous brows. Time is furrowing them with wrinkles\u2014wearing down their colossal forms. Atmospheric influences are subjecting them to continual waste and decay. The hoary-crowned Alp is included in the doom, \u201cAll these things shall be dissolved.\u201d But, more enduring than mountains of primeval granite is God\u2019s kindness. Whatever is dearest to us may change\u2014and sooner or later must perish. The gourd we have lovingly nurtured and tended may wither, like Jonah\u2019s, just when most needed. The gold we have taken a life-time to amass, may be forfeited by one adverse turn of capricious fortune. The brook which for long years has sung its joyful way at our side, may be dried in its channel. The \u201cstaff and beautiful rod\u201d which blossomed in our household may be broken, and strewed in withered leaves at our feet. The cistern\u2014hewn with such pains\u2014may be fractured by a stroke of the chisel while hewing it, and lie scattered on the ground in fragments of shapeless ruin.\u00a0 But God\u2019s love is immutable and immovable! Mark the succession of golden links\u2014\u201dprecious thoughts,\u201d in our motto-verse. He speaks of the \u201ccovenant,\u201d\u2014\u201dthe covenant of peace,\u201d\u2014of \u201cMy peace\u201d\u2014a covenant not to be \u201cremoved.\u201d These are glorious guarantees. Mountains, rocks, forests, all may decay and will decay; but \u201cthe Lord lives\u201d\u2014\u201dHis years shall have no end;\u201d\u2014\u201dThe mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting, upon those who fear him.\u201d\u00a0 Nothing can assail the believer\u2019s safety or undermine his security. The oriental shepherds were used to girdle their flocks and folds with a belt of fire, to scare away the devouring wolves. \u2018I,\u2019 says God to His Zion, and to each child of Zion, \u2018I will be that fiery defense. This covenant of My peace will be as a wall of flame\u2014once within My fold you are safe forever. My sheep shall never\u2014can never, perish.\u2019 \u201cOur cause,\u201d says Luther, \u201cis in the very hands of Him who can say with unimpeachable dignity, \u2018No one shall pluck it out of My hands.\u2019 I would not have it in our hands, and it would not be desirable that it were so. I have had many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have been able to place in God\u2019s hands, I still possess.\u201d \u201cAs soon might Satan,\u201d says Charnock, \u201cpull God out of heaven, undermine the security of Christ, and tear Him from the bosom of the Father, as deprive His people of their spiritual life.\u201d Believer, rejoice in this faithful, covenant-keeping God. Anchor your soul on this Rock of the Divine veracity. The great adversary may try at times to impair your confidence\u2014shake your trust\u2014lead you to question your personal interest in the great salvation. But what are his negatives, to one affirmative of that God who cannot lie? His covenant of peace has something better than your own ever-fluctuating frames and feelings to rest upon. It is ratified by His own oath and promise. \u201cThe counsel of the Lord stands forever; the thoughts of His heart to all generations. \u201cJust as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds and protects His people, both now and forever (Psalm 125:2). John MacDuff, 1849<\/p>\n

The Bridegroom’s love<\/strong><\/p>\n

(John Fawcett, “Christ Precious”)<\/p>\n

“Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!” Revelation 21:9<\/p>\n

Jesus is the BRIDEGROOM of His people, and He is so unspeakably excellent<\/em> in that view, that none in heaven or earth can rival Him. We were deformed<\/em>, polluted<\/em>, and in every respect, unworthy <\/em>of standing in so near and intimate a relation to Him. There was no excellency in us, to render us desirable in His eyes\u2014but everything to provoke His resentment. And yet He was resolved to betroth us to Himself forever\u2014in loving-kindness, in faithfulness, and in mercy!<\/p>\n

Sin had reduced us to a state of absolute beggary, poverty, and wretchedness. Yet it was His good pleasure to take us into union with Himself\u2014that we might share in His unsearchable riches! Nay, though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor\u2014that we through His poverty, might be made rich!<\/p>\n

Do we speak of the Bridegroom’s love<\/strong>? It is absolutely without parallel. There is nothing which will bear any comparison with it. Its height <\/em>and depth<\/em>, its length <\/em>and breadth <\/em>are immeasurable! It passes the knowledge of men or angels. It is stronger than death\u2014for Christ loves His church, and gave Himself for it. Jesus Himself says to those who are married unto Him, “As the Father has loved me\u2014so have I loved you!”<\/em> The love of the nearest relations among men, falls inconceivably short of setting forth the nature<\/em>, or the ardency <\/em>of His love. No husband loves the dearest wife\u2014as Christ loves His people.<\/p>\n

Believers, by virtue of their marital union with Jesus\u2014are advanced to great riches <\/em>and honors<\/em>. They are heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. The riches of eternity are their own! <\/em>They are taken from the dust and the dunghill\u2014and set among glorious princes! The angels in heaven think it no dishonor to be their servants. The contract is made, and it will be consummated at the great day, when the marriage supper will be celebrated with solemnity, triumph, and glory\u2014suited to the dignity of the glorious Bridegroom. “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb!<\/em>” Revelation 19:9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The covenant of grace! (Charles Spurgeon, “The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant!” 1859) “The blood of the everlasting covenant!” Hebrews 13:20 Long before the day-star knew its place, long before God had spoken existence out of nothing, long before angel’s wing had stirred the unnavigated ether, long before a solitary song had disturbed the solemnity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2943"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2945,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2943\/revisions\/2945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}