Contractual Agreement

Audio Version here

Psalm 25:10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. (NIV)

I had to sign a contract this morning for our Scottish folk band, Glenfinnan. We’re due to make three appearances at an all-day Celtic music festival which is being held on Saturday September 22 in Dandridge, Tennessee. The contract states that we will play two sets in the afternoon at the hospitality tent and headline the evening concert next to the dam. The contract also stipulates that no matter what the weather is like, the performances will still take place. I guess it is standard procedure for organizers to have these contracts signed, but it is the first time our band has had to sign one.

Covenants in the Bible are a bit like contracts, except that God is usually the one to initiate and complete them. Part of my seminary education at Glasgow University was to read about the covenants in the Old Testament. Time and time again, God makes a covenant with His chosen people. Time after time, the Hebrew people break the covenant, so God has to get them to re-commit themselves to Him. Finally, God chooses to initiate one last covenant, one last witness to His faithfulness, which we call the New Testament. Jesus Christ seals this new covenant with His blood on the Cross at Calvary. There are no more options, no more testaments, no more covenants after His death – after all, how could God top the sacrifice of His Only Son?

The way in which we can keep this new covenant is to believe that Jesus died for our sins and that through Him alone we are reconciled and restored to God. All other covenants are futile. All other ways fail.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank You for the everlasting covenant that You made with humankind through Jesus Christ, Your Holy Son. In Him, we have forgiveness. Through Him, we are given salvation. To Him, we covenant our lives. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.