Let us turn to God's Word once
again in the portion we were reading in Hebrews. Hebrews chapter
13, and I'll read the passage from verses 20 and 21. Hebrews 13, 20 and 21. Now the
God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, make you perfect in every good work, to do His will,
working in you that which is while pleasing in His sight,
through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. It's a familiar passage in a
sense, a familiar benediction, because we sometimes would use
these words at the conclusion of our celebration of that Holy
Ordinance of the Lord's Supper. There are these several benedictions
that we find throughout the Scriptures. We were considering last week,
I suppose, the best known of all, that great apostolic benediction
at the end of 2 Corinthians. the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you
all. Amen. It's a Trinitarian blessing
that we have in those words and of course as it is Trinitarian
so it sets before us the great truth of the doctrine of God,
the only living, the only true God. Well, the words that we
have here, of course, centre primarily in the Covenant, so
we might say that what we have in the words that I've just read
for our text this morning is a Covenantal benediction. And that's the subject that I
want to try to take up for a while this morning, and then also again,
if the Lord will, We'll look at the same passage this evening. But to begin with, I want us
to look at the covenant that is being spoken of here. It is,
of course, the everlasting covenant. It is the eternal covenant. It's stated quite plainly here
at the end of verse 20. where we read of the blood of
the everlasting covenant. And I'm sure we're well aware
of what a covenant is. It's a pact. It's an arrangement, we might say,
an agreement, a contract. We've recently celebrated two
weddings at the beginning of the year. and the Lord willing
we'll have another wedding later in the summer and we recognize
that when young couples come together before God they enter
into a very solemn contract they enter into a covenant and we
see that that is grounded in the Word of God we have those
words of the Prophet Malachi Malachi 2.14 Yet is she thy companion
and the wife of thy covenant?" The expression, the wife of thy
covenant, indicates that there must have been some sort of exchange
of vows and promises. And so, a marriage does give
us some idea, some illustration of what a covenant is. But here
when we think of this everlasting covenant I want for a little
while to consider it as it were from two aspects. We can think
of it in terms of God's eternal purpose. We can also think of
it in terms of God's promise of salvation. It is certainly
associated of course with the purpose of God. is eternal decree. And here we are told it is everlasting. The word that's used is often
in the New Testament translated as eternal. It is from everlasting
and it is to everlasting. It is that that stretches back
into before ever time was created. I don't like to speak in terms
of eternity past and eternity to come because that's really
a contradiction in terms when we think of eternity we're all
together outside of time. God created time when he created
the heavens and the earth. But God himself is the one who
dwells in eternity. And God's counsel then, God's
covenant, is very much an eternal covenant. And we have the language
of the Old Testament, words that are spoken concerning David,
spoken to David, and David of course in many ways such a typical
character. because the Lord Jesus Christ
in the fullness of the time comes as the son of David, David's
greater son. He comes as that one who is the
seed of the woman. He is the seed of Abraham. He
is the seed of David. And so when we read such words
as we find there in Isaiah 55, I will make an everlasting covenant
with you. even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for
a witness to the people, a leader and a commander to the people."
Surely we recognize that a greater than David is set before us in
those words. And the language that we find
David employing at the end of his life. Remember the words
that we have in 2 Samuel 23, the last words of David. And
what does he say amongst other things? He has made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. And this
is all my salvation and all my desire. But that covenant is
really one that is made with his greatest son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is the great covenant of salvation. He is that one, of course, who
is the root of Jesse. Jesse, the father of David. And in Isaiah 11, we read of
one who is the root of Jesse and yet he is a rod out of Jesse's
root these two things together he
is the root of Jesse the father of David and yet he is a rod
out of the root of Jesse and it reminds us of who the Lord
Jesus Christ is that he is God manifest in the flesh he is Jesse's
And David's God is the Lord. And yet, when we think of him
in terms of his human nature, he is of the line that stretches
back to David, to Jesse, to Abraham, to Adam and Eve. All the wonder
of the person of the Lord Jesus. And we have those words concerning
him as the branch spoken in the book of the Prophet Zechariah,
there in the sixth chapter of that prophecy, and the language
that we find at verse 12 and verse 13. Thus speaketh the Lord
of Hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch,
and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the
temple of the Lord. even he shall build the temple
of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and he shall sit and
rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne,
and the council of peace shall be between them both." Oh, there
is a council of peace between them both. There is a covenant
between the persons in the gardens between God the Father and God
the Son, and all witnessed by God the Holy Ghost, and how it
all centers in Him who is spoken of there as the Branch, or that
is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Doesn't God say, Behold my servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth? I have
put my spirit upon him. Oh, in the fullness of the time,
He who is the Eternal Son of God, the Only Begotten of the
Father, becomes that One who is the Lord's Servant, who comes
not to do His own will, but the will of Him who was sent Him,
and to finish His work. He comes then as that One who
is the Mediator of the New Covenant. That's how he's spoken of back
in chapter 9. And there at verse 15, he is
the mediator, the mediator of the New Testament, or the New
Covenant. And when we read, we began reading
back here in Hebrews chapter 12, and of course there we see
the contrast between two covenants. The contrast between that that
was entered into with the children of Israel at Mount Sinai which
is associated with law and that that comes from Mount Zion and
sets before us the grace of God in the New Covenant. Remember
the words that we were reading just now The Apostle says there
at verse 18, "...ye are not come unto the mount that might be
touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and
darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice
of words, which voice, they that heard, entreated that the word
should not be spoken to them any more." or the scene that
is painted and set for us there in Exodus chapter 19, as God
will descend upon the mount and enter into covenant with the
children of Israel. And then here we have that parenthesis
in verses 20 and 21 where we see how fearful the whole scene
was. Even Moses said, I exceedingly
fear and quake. That is the old covenant. But
then, what does he say? Verse 22, Ye are come unto man's
Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly
and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven,
and to God the judge of all, and to the spirit of just men
made perfect, and to Jesus. Lord Jesus, the mediator of the
new covenant. And he speaketh better things.
That blood that was shed speaketh better things than that of Abel. There is a contrast then being
drawn. The law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. It was when the fullness of the
time was come. that God sent forth His Son made
of a woman and made under the law. He doesn't come to destroy
law and prophets, He comes to fulfill. And He executes that work perfectly. He honors the law, He magnifies
the law by the obedience of His sinless life. And then by that
great sin atoning sacrifice that he makes, he honors the law both
in terms of all his holy precepts, obeying every commandment, but
also in terms of all his dreadful penalties, because he is punished
there as the one who is the substitute for his people. All grace and
truth have come by Jesus Christ. This is God's eternal purpose.
That that was decreed from before the foundation of the world.
He is the Lamb of God, slave from the foundation of the world. And I said that last time we
were looking at those words in 2 Corinthians 13-14, that great
apostolic blessing that centers in the Trinity, and of course
This covenant is really one that involves all the persons in the
Godhead. In a sense, the everlasting covenant
is the inter-trinitarian covenant. We see there, don't we, that
salvation involves God in all the fullness of His being, Father,
Son and Holy Ghost. You're familiar with the opening
chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians. And
now it's set before us there. And I do like the way it's punctuated
in our authorized version. I'm not saying that the punctuation
as we have it in the authorized version is part and parcel of
the original inspired Scriptures. But of course, punctuation is
important in understanding what is written. But look at the punctuation
there in Ephesians 1, and you'll see that verse 3 is a sentence
that begins and runs through to verse 6, and the subject being
dealt with in that long sentence is the electing love of the Father.
And then we have another long sentence from verse 7 through
12, and he speaks very much of the redemption that was accomplished
by God the Son. And then in verses 13 and 14
we have a shorter sentence, and that sentence sets before us
the sealing of the Holy Ghost. And so we see salvation there
as that that was purposed in eternity by God the Father, and
a salvation that was accomplished in time by God the Son. And then that great salvation
that was purposed by the Father, procured by the Son, must be
applied, brought home into the souls of sinners, and that's
the blessed work of the Holy Spirit. and it's all covenantal
it's the outworking of the covenant of redemption that council of
peace that was between them both when in eternity the father committed
into the hands of the son of people to be saved Lo! it is the father who sends the
son when the fullness of the time has come we are told God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. And who is it that gives the
Holy Spirit? Is it not the Son? Now we see
it in the way in which He speaks there in John 16 and verse 7. He says to His disciples, it
is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the
Holy Ghost, the Comforter, will not come. But if I depart, I
will send him on to you. The Son accomplishes his work. He makes the great sin atoning
sacrifice. He is raised again from the dead. He ascends on high. And then
what happens on the day of Pentecost? Well, Peter tells us quite plainly,
therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He has shed
forth this which ye now see and hear. All the wonder, you see,
of the grace of God in the outworking of this blessed covenant, that
the Father should send His Son in the time appointed from all
eternity and that the Son should lay down His life at that appointed
time when the time was come that He should be received up, remember
He sets His face to go to Jerusalem. No man is able to take His life.
He has power, He has authority to lay it down, He has authority
to take it again. This was the commandment of the
Father. It's all the outworking of the
sovereign purpose of God that we saw in the ministry, the life,
the death, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then
with the coming of God the Holy Spirit, when the day of Pentecost
was fully come. It was that very time that God
had ordained from all eternity. And so we're to think of this everlasting covenant in terms
of God's purpose that stretches back into eternity and yet accomplished
here upon the earth in His time. But it's also, of course, ultimately
the great promise, the promise of salvation. And we have that
first promise, don't we, back in Genesis 3 15, what they call
the Protoevangelium, the first gospel promise in the very chapter
that records the fall of our first parents, right at the beginning
of Genesis. And what does God say in that
promise? He's speaking to the serpent,
the instrument of Satan. and he says I will put enmity
between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her
seed it shall bruise thy head thou shalt bruise his heel that's
the first promise and he concerns the seed of the woman oh you see the woman was first
in the transgression now the serpent came and tempt
Eve and she partakes of that forbidden fruit and she gives
to Adam her husband and with open eyes he partakes the woman
is first in the transgression but all the promise the promise
comes for the woman the seed of the woman and that one who
is promised there as the seed of the woman is later of course
spoken of in terms of the seed of Abraham, who is the father
of all them that believe to Abraham, and his seed, we're told, were
the promises made. And he saith not to the seeds
as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3.16, it's Christ who
is the true seed of Abraham. the promise of God. Time and
again we see it in terms of the seed, the seed of the woman,
the seed of Abraham, the seed of David, the son of David. And
remember, we have promises of course associated with the giving
of the Lord of God in Deuteronomy 28. we have a
chapter that speaks of all those great promises that were associated with the giving of the law blessings
will come where there's obedience but there'll also be curses where
there is disobedience and it's all set before us there in that
long 28th chapter, the blessings for
obedience, the curses for disobedience. But what are the blessings? In
the opening words of the chapter, it shall come to pass, if thou
shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God,
to observe and to do all his commandment which I commanded
this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all
nations of the earth. Here is Moses speaking to the
children of Israel. All these blessings shall come
on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice
of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the
city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field, and blessed
shalt be the fruit of thy body. and the fruit of thy ground,
and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kind, and
the flocks of thy sheep. And so it goes on, blessings
upon blessings. But what are these blessings?
Associated with the Lord, they're all temporal blessings. They're
all physical blessings. They're all blessings that are
associated with this life. But how different are the promises
that God gives in terms of the New Covenant, the promises of
the Gospel? They are spiritual, clearly,
and we see it here in the 8th chapter of this epistle. What do we read there at verse
6? He's speaking of the ministry
of the Lord Jesus. Now has he obtained a more excellent
ministry? By how much also he is the mediator
of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had
been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the
second. But finding fault with them,
he said, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make
a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their
fathers in the day when I took them out by the hand to lead
them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in
my covenant, and I regarded them not." And so it goes on. It's a better covenant, and it's
established upon better promises. Ultimately, what is that law
that was given at Mount Sinai? Well, it's spoken of in 2 Corinthians
3 as the administration of condemnation. The law worketh wrath. They were
not able to obey those commandments. They continually broke the covenant. They sinned against God. They
brought upon themselves curses. The law worketh wroth. And there
in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul is quite clear. It's a ministration then
of condemnation. It's a ministration of death.
And then he speaks in contrast of the Gospel. And what is the
Gospel? Well, we see it there in that
same third chapter of 2 Corinthians. It's a ministration of the Spirit.
It's a ministration of righteousness. It's a revelation, you see, of
the salvation of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus. And
what is the name whereby He is to be called? He is the Lord,
our righteousness. Though it all centres then in
the Lord Jesus Christ and all His accomplishments, there is
the great promise, all the promises of God. In Him are ye, and in
Him are men. Lord, thanks be to God for that
unspeakable gift, the great promise then of this everlasting covenant. Well, in a second place, I want
to try to say something with regards to the actual sealing
of the Covenant. Christ is the mediator of this
Covenant. Grace and truth come by Jesus
Christ. He's the mediator of the New
Testament. And what does He do? He seals.
He seals the Covenant. The God of peace. that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Without shedding of blood there
is no remission of sins. It all enters in bloody sacrifice. He is found in fashion as a man,
he becomes obedient unto death. even the death of the cross that's
a cursed death all cursed is everyone that hangeth
on a tree and that's the death that he must die it's amazing
isn't it when we think of the words that we have there in the
16th chapter of Matthew where the Lord draws out his disciples
and Peter makes his great confession now what the Christ the son of
the living God and then the Lord begins to speak how he must needs
go to Jerusalem and suffer and die right again the third day
Peter says all that be far from thee Lord and how does the Lord
then speak to this man he had pronounced him so blessed when
he made his confession thou art the Christ the Son of the Living
God blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonah flesh and blood hath not revealed
it unto thee but my Father But when Peter opposes the idea of
the Lord going to Jerusalem, and he must, he said, he must
go to Jerusalem, and Peter dares say, that be far from it, get
thee behind me, Satan, he said. He knew, he knew that he must
seal the covenant, he must seal the testament, with his own blood. He must die that accursed death
of the truth. He must suffer upon a Roman cross. And so, I'm sure many of you
are aware that we have it here, of course, in this very epistle,
in chapter 9, verse 15. For this cause he is
the mediator of the New Testament or the New Covenant. It's the
same word, really, that's often translated covenant, sometimes
testament. For this cause he is the mediator
of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption
of the transgressions that were under the First Testament, there was no life there but death,
you see, for transgressors under the law. They which are called
might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where
a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of
the testator. For a testament is of force after
men are dead. Otherwise it is of no strength
at all while the testator liveth." And so Christ dies. And so Christ
seals the Testament with his own light. All the wonder, you see, of what
God has done in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's so much in this
epistle with regards to these things. Here we have the great
purpose of God. as I said at the beginning in
understanding the covenant we are to think in terms of God's
eternal purpose, His eternal decree we have the purpose of
God, we have the promise of God we have Christ sealing it by
the shedding of His precious blood but remember also what
we have in chapter 6, we have we have the oath of God and when
God made that promise to Abraham because he could swear by no
greater he swore by himself and he has magnified his word above
all his name well this is the wonder of this covenant the sureness of the covenant
the certainty of the covenant you know the language of the
prophet Isaiah, that evangelical prophet. He says, doesn't he,
there in chapter 54, in verse 10, the mountain shall depart
and the hills be removed. But my kindness shall not depart
from men, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, if the
Lord that hath mercy Oh friends, this is the God that we are favored
to have dealings with in the Eternal Covenant. There's a permanence here, you
see. What do we see back in that 8th chapter? We've
already referred to it with the coming of the New Covenant. The
last verse there, verse 13 in chapter 8, he set a new covenant,
in that he set a new covenant, he hath made the first of all.
Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
It's gone. To new covenants. There is a
permanence. It all leads up to the great
consummation of all things. the last days that's the days
in which we're living what favoured people we are behold now is the
acceptable time and behold now is the day of salvation oh the Lord Jesus Christ he's
not only died he's risen again do we not have it here in the
text the God of priests have brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood
of the everlasting covenant he's declared to be the Son of God
with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection
from the dead says Paul as he begins to define what the gospel
is there in the opening words of Romans it's Christ It's Christ
who lived, who died, who rose again, who's ascended on high,
who is now at his Father's right hand in glory, whoever lives
to make intercession for all that come to God by him. And you know this covenant, is
it not sealed in the hearts of all the elect? It's sealed in
the heart of all the elect. That's what we have there in
those verses in Ephesians 1, 13 and 14. I referred to that
remarkable opening chapter in those three sentences. And the
last concerns the Holy Ghost there in verses 13 and 14. And
it says, after that you believed you were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. But really Those two verbs stand together,
a more literal rendering is believing you were sealed. They're concurrent
actions. As soon as the sinner has a real
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, his salvation is sealed. He's
sealed with the Holy Spirit. What does it say here? It speaks
of God making them perfect. make you perfect in every good
work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing
in His sight." Paul says, being confident of this very thing,
that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ. This is the sealing, you see. Or God says, shall I bring to
the birth and not cause to bring forth? Shall I cause to bring
forth and shut up the womb, saith I God? That's not the way of
God. God works. And where does He work? Working
in you, it says. Working in you. And though God works in the souls
of men, as Paul says, He pleads God to reveal His Son in me. It's an inward work. It's the
life of God coming into the soul of the sinner. All Christ, the mediator, you
see, He seals the covenant by His Spirit in the souls of sinners. And then we see Him here also
as that one who, as He is the mediator, so He is the shepherd. He's the shepherd of the sheep.
that great shepherd who are the sheep? who are the
sheep? well that's the elect the ones that are given to him
in the covenant by the father he speaks of them my sheep he
says hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I
give to them eternal life and they shall never perish How we are to make our calling
and election sure. And that's how we make it sure,
you see. The calling is put before the election there by Peter. We are to give all diligence
to make our calling. We can only know we'll elect
where we've known effectual calling. Are we those who bear that mark
of the sheep, they know his voice. They know not the voice of strangers,
but they know His voice, and they follow Him. Oh, have you
heard His voice? And where the word of a king
is as power, it's effectual, you see. He calls the sheep by
name, and they follow Him. He prays for them, doesn't He?
For them, He says, I pray not for the world, but for them which
Thou hast given Me out of the world. His great prayer there
in John 17. Now the Lord prays for His sheep. They know His voice because He's
praying for them, but why He's given His life for them. I am
the Good Shepherd. and the Good Shepherd giveth
His life for the sheep. And then ultimately in the Great
Day of Judgment they'll be known, they'll be separated. It will
be a day of separation. He'll set the sheep on the right
hand and the goats on the left. Oh, He's the Shepherd of the
sheep. And how as the Shepherd He so willingly gave His life
for them a waco sword against my shepherd and against the man
that is my fellow says the father is the father's fellow is equal
with the father there's no superiority and inferiority
in the doctrine of God the father the son the Holy Ghost that co-eternal
that co-equal but is that one who as the servant
of God is the saviour of sinners awake a sword against my shepherd
says God and against the man that is my fellow and you know this one is distinguished
from all the false shepherds is distinguished from all the
false shepherds it's that great chapter isn't there back in the
Old Testament in Ezekiel 34 where the word of the Lord comes to
the prophet, son of man prophesy against the shepherds of Israel
prophesy and say unto them thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds
well be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves should
not the shepherds feed the flocks It's a remarkable chapter. Verse
11, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I, even I, will both
search my sheep, and seek them out, as a shepherd seeketh out
his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered. So will I seek out my sheep,
and will deliver them out of all places where they have been
scattered in the cloudy and dark day. Verse 16, I will seek that
which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and
bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which
was sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong, I will
feed them with judgment. This is the Lord Jesus. Yes,
there's a chapter here that's reproving the false shepherds.
Who were the false shepherds? Well, they were those who were
the unfaithful priests. and the false prophets and the
wicked princes and kings but here is one you see who is he's
the great high priest he's the true prophet of the Lord he's
the king of kings and how he how he cares for his sheep how
he cares for his sheep and it is the Lord Jesus that He's being
spoken of. These men are being reproved,
but here is God's promise that there will be one, the Great
Shepherd of the sheep. The Great Shepherd of the sheep. And we see Him there, don't we?
Verse 23, God says, I will set up one shepherd over them, and
he shall feed them, even my servant David. He shall feed them, and
he shall be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their
God, and My servant David, a prince among them. I, the Lord, have
spoken it." Now, Ezekiel lives many days after David. David
is dead. Why, his sepulcher is there.
In Israel. Who is this David? That he's
set up as the one shepherd. It's David's greatest son, a
greater than David, you see. He's the one that he's being
spoken of. Oh, He is that One who is the Good Shepherd of the
sheep. The Good Shepherd of the sheep. Of course, our dear brother Martin
Penton left us earlier this week, departed to a better place. But
when one thinks of death, one immediately thinks of the words
of the Psalmist, doesn't one? the language that we have there
in the familiar words of Psalm 23 and I'll close this morning
by reading that Psalm I was thinking about the shadow of death spoken
of there in a sense death is but a shadow because Christ is
he who says I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am
alive forevermore and have the keys of hell and of death. What
can we say? With David here, a psalm of David,
the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me
to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil. For thou art with me, thy rod
and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. Well, the Lord bless his word.
God willing, we'll come again to try to say something more
from the remarkable words that we have before us here in this
passage at the end of the Hebrew epistle. The Lord bless his word.