Our Daily Walk : October 17

October 17

Making A Covenant With God

In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests. — Neh 9:38 BSB

Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises. — Heb 8:6 BSB

It is good for the soul to make a covenant with God. On his twenty-third birthday, Milton wrote these memorable lines:

“Yet be it less or more, or soon or slow,
It shall be still in strictest measure even
To that same lot, however mean or high,
Toward which Time leads me and the will of Heaven.
All is, if I have grace to use it so,
As ever in my great Taskmaster’s eye.”

This was Milton’s covenant with God, and through all the years—whether in his prime under Cromwell or in his later years under Charles II—he never wavered from the path he had chosen.

Who can forget Wordsworth’s magnificent lines about returning from a village celebration just before dawn, when the glory of a summer sunrise broke over the hills? He describes its beauty and adds, “Vows were made for me, that I should be, else sinning greatly, a dedicated spirit.”

In Nehemiah, we find principles that may guide us in our covenant with God:

Never allow anything in private or business life that is inconsistent with the high ideals of Scripture.
Set aside a portion of our income and time for the work and house of God.
Observe the day of rest.

However, a covenant is between two parties. Our own resolutions are not strong enough to keep us faithful. Even the most passionate promises may fail in the face of temptation. Our covenants are only secure if God is a party to them. But if Jesus is our Co-Signatory, there is a safeguard that all the powers of evil cannot overthrow.

Livingstone’s covenant with God was to heal the open plague of the Arab slave trade. Some covenants, like this, have been signed in blood. D.L. Moody’s prayer as a young man was: “Great God, let the world learn, through my life, what Thou canst do by a man wholly devoted to Thee!”

Prayer

We present ourselves to You, O God, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable—our reasonable service. Fulfill through us the good pleasure of Your goodness and the work of faith with power. Amen.