That the old covenant has been abolished by being superseded by the new, Paul plainly states; of this there is no question. And we affirm further that nothing has been abolished but the old covenant. Whatever has been abolished was included in that covenant, and whatever was not included in that covenant, still remains, unaffected by the change from old to new. If the ten commandments constituted the old covenant, then they are forever gone; and no man need contend for their perpetuity or labor for their revival. But if they did not constitute the old covenant, then they have not been abolished, and no man need breathe a doubt in regard to their perpetuity and immutability. This therefore becomes a test question. It determines as definitely as any one subject can, the whole question of the perpetuity or abolition of the moral law. TTC 5.2
Can we than tell what did constitute the first, or old, covenant. What does the word, covenant, mean? Webster defines it thus: “A mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, in writing and under seal, to do or to refrain from, some act or thing; a contract; stipulation.” This is the primary, leading definition of the word; and in looking for the old covenant, we look for some transaction to which this definition will apply.
Verses 7, 8: “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 the people answered together and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” TTC 7.2
Such was the response of the people. They said, “We agree to the terms; we will enter into the arrangement.” We now have the two parties before us, and the mutual, voluntary action on the part of each. This is the first transaction of the kind recorded between God and that people. It answers most strictly to the meaning of the word covenant. Therefore we say that this has the primary claim to be considered the old covenant of which Jeremiah prophesied and Paul discoursed. TTC 7.3
It may be asked, then, how the ten commandments can be called “the covenant.” We answer, That is just where the people are misled. They are never called “the” covenant, referring to the first or old covenant. That the ten commandments are called “a” covenant, we admit; but what kind of a covenant? and in what sense are they so called? Pleased read again Exodus 19:5: “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant”, etc. Then God had something which he called his covenant, which antedated the covenant made with Israel. It was already in existence, before any formal agreement whatever was made with that people. And this explains Deuteronomy 4:13. Those who read that verse should be critical enough to observe that Moses does not call the ten commandments the covenant, nor a covenant, but his (God’s) covenant. “And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments.” These, then, are what God referred to in Exodus 19:5, in the words, my covenant; and these were already in existence when the covenant was made with Israel. It should be noticed, further, that the covenant of Deuteronomy 4:23, is not a covenant made, but a covenant commanded; and surely any one can see the difference between an arrangement established upon this voluntary and mutual promises of two parties, and that which one party has power to enjoin with authority upon another party. But the covenant here mentioned, God did thus enjoin upon them without regard to any action on their part.
The Two Covenants
Can we than tell what did constitute the first, or old, covenant. What does the word, covenant, mean? Webster defines it thus: “A mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, in writing and under seal, to do or to refrain from, some act or thing; a contract; stipulation.” This is the primary, leading definition of the word; and in looking for the old covenant, we look for some transaction to which this definition will apply.
Verses 7, 8: “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 the people answered together and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” TTC 7.2
Such was the response of the people. They said, “We agree to the terms; we will enter into the arrangement.” We now have the two parties before us, and the mutual, voluntary action on the part of each. This is the first transaction of the kind recorded between God and that people. It answers most strictly to the meaning of the word covenant. Therefore we say that this has the primary claim to be considered the old covenant of which Jeremiah prophesied and Paul discoursed. TTC 7.3
It may be asked, then, how the ten commandments can be called “the covenant.” We answer, That is just where the people are misled. They are never called “the” covenant, referring to the first or old covenant. That the ten commandments are called “a” covenant, we admit; but what kind of a covenant? and in what sense are they so called? Pleased read again Exodus 19:5: “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant”, etc. Then God had something which he called his covenant, which antedated the covenant made with Israel. It was already in existence, before any formal agreement whatever was made with that people. And this explains Deuteronomy 4:13. Those who read that verse should be critical enough to observe that Moses does not call the ten commandments the covenant, nor a covenant, but his (God’s) covenant. “And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments.” These, then, are what God referred to in Exodus 19:5, in the words, my covenant; and these were already in existence when the covenant was made with Israel. It should be noticed, further, that the covenant of Deuteronomy 4:23, is not a covenant made, but a covenant commanded; and surely any one can see the difference between an arrangement established upon this voluntary and mutual promises of two parties, and that which one party has power to enjoin with authority upon another party. But the covenant here mentioned, God did thus enjoin upon them without regard to any action on their part.
The Two Covenants
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