Apart from Him we can do nothing. Perhaps in modern terminology we would call covenant a contract. Such an agreement involves trust and responsibility on both sides. Of course, on God's side we have nothing to worry about. Our side is another matter.
Baptism begins the agreement.
In the Holy Mass we remember, make present and offer the new covenant made in the Blood of Christ. The sacrament of reconciliation repairs our breach in the contract. So our relationship with God is a contractual one, a contract of mutual love. It should not be surprising, therefore, that God relates to us in other ways by contract. Take for instance the promise of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for those who make the nine consecutive first fridays of the month.