The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-12-02

Ills.
New Covenant
Lesson for December 4, 1860
All of us live under laws we
have never read. But there is
one law in the United States
which is at the base of all others.
Laws which conflict with this one
are declared to be null and
void" (empty and nothing. to
YOU unconstitutional For the
Constitution of the U. S. A. is
the basic law of the land. 1t is
not long, it can be read by any
one with a high school education
If every community had public
ceremony once a year at which
this Constitution would be read,
preferably by every one there in
unison, it might be a very good
thing.
Is there = it is a bold ques-
ton - anything corresponding to
the Constitution. having to do
with the relations not among
men, but between men and God?
Is there any Agreement or Plan
in line with which God and men
can have dealings with each
other?
Can God Be Depended On?
One answer to that question is
NO 1t is not the Christian an
swer. it is not the Bible answer,
but you may hear it from many
people. Such people believe that
God is more like lightning, or the
wind, than he is like a person.
The expression "Act of God"
often refers to something not only
unpredictable, like a tornado or
an earthquake. but something
horrible and devastating. wiping
out the works and the welfare of
man. Granted, God is not all
sweetness and light" He is not
a Grandmother in-the- sky. Never
theless, the Bible never speaks of
Gods wrath without good rea-
son for it. God is not a capricious
prima donna with an ungovern-
able temper. Gods wrath is any
thing but a tantrum. His good
ness is not dependent on how he
feels as ours is. God does not
have moods he does not do
what he does lust because :"
The Old Covenant
On the contrary, Gods dealings
with His people. the ancient
people of Israel, followed a pat
tern. Not that God is not free to
act as he will; free to choose any
pattern. free to act on any line.
But once having chosen the pat
tern, the line, the way of dealing
with men, God does not give that
up as we would say without
notice.
The characteristic pattern of
Gods dealings with Israel was
called a Covenant. Another word
for that is Agreement. 1t means
a two-sided arrangement. Bar
gain is not a good word for it,
because the word bargain sug-
gests haggling, each side trying
to get as much and give as little
as possible. Covenant is a good
word, if we remember that no
agreement between God and man
can be dictated by man. God,
not man, sets the terms.
Many times in the Old Tesla
ment there is a story OF the
making and remakng of the
Covenant. Exodus "a and Joshua
"a describe two such occasions. }
The people choose God: God
chooses the people. The people
choose God and promise to obey
Him not in order to bride Him
into choosing them. but because
He has chosen them.
The New Covenant
jeremiah makes two things
plain about this Old Covenant. :
One is that the people ariably
broke it. The other is that Goo
will make new one. and this
will be written on mems hearts
not on the wall or in some docu-
ment outside them. If we give a
name to the Old Covenant il
would be Law; if we give name
to the New. it must be Love
Jesus called the Communion cur
the new Covenant in my blood
because His blood would be sheC
as a pure sacrifice of love-"
To put this in another way
Gods dealings with men, with
those who knew Him best. once
upon a time was in the patterr
of Law. Now He acts in the pat
tern of Love. This does not NEAR
that God never acted out of Z
motive of divine love before
Christ came We must not fame,
that Christ somehow managed K
| induce God to love this world O