Now, in this covenant of grace, we must first of all observe the high contracting parties between whom it was made.  The covenant of grace was made before the foundation of the world between God the Father, and God the Son; or to put it in a yet more scriptural light, it was made mutually between the three Divine Persons of the adorable Trinity.  This covenant was not made mutually between God and man. Man did not at that time exist; but Christ stood in the covenant as man's representative.  In that sense we will allow that it was a covenant between God and man, but not a covenant between God and any man personally and individually.  It was a covenant between God with Christ, and through Christ indirectly with all the blood-bought seed who were loved of Christ from the foundation of the world.  It is a noble and glorious thought, the very poetry of that old Calvinistic doctrine which we teach, that long ere the day-star knew its place, before God had spoken existence out of nothing, before angel's wing had stirred the unnavigated ether, before a solitary song had distributed the solemnity of the silence in which God reigned supreme, He had entered into solemn council with Himself, with His Son, and with His Spirit, and had in that council decreed, determined, proposed, and predestinated the salvation of his people.  He had, moreover, in the covenant arranged the ways and means, and fixed and settled everything which should work together for the effecting of the purpose and the decree.  My soul flies back now, winged by imagination and by faith, and looks into that mysterious council-chamber, and by faith I behold the Father pledging Himself to the Son, and the Son pledging Himself to the Father, while the Spirit gives His pledge to both, and thus that divine compact, long to be hidden in darkness, is completed and settled-the covenant which in these latter days has been read in the light of heaven, and has become the joy, and hope, and boast of all the saints...

         And now, what were the terms of this covenant?  God has foreseen that man after creation would break the covenant of works; that however mild and gentle the tenure upon which Adam had possession of Paradise, yet that tenure would be too severe for him, and he would be sure to kick against it, and ruin himself.  God had also foreseen that His elect ones, whom he had chosen out of the rest of mankind would fall by the sin of Adam, since they, as well as the rest of mankind, were represented in Adam.  The covenant therefore had for its end the restoration of the chosen people.  And now we may readily understand what the terms were.  On the Father's part, thus run the covenant.  I cannot tell you it in the glorious celestial tongue in which it was written: I am fain to bring it down to the speech that is suited to the ear of flesh, and to the heart of the mortal.  Thus, I say, run the covenant, in ones like these: "I, the Most High Jehovah, do hereby give unto my only begotten and well-beloved Son, a people, countless beyond the number of stars, who shall be by Him washed from sin, by Him preserved, and kept, and led, and by Him, at last, presented before My throne, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.  I covenant by oath, and swear by Myself, because I can swear by no greater, that these whom I now give to Christ shall be for ever the objects of M y eternal love.  Them I will forgive through the merit of the blood.  To these will I give a perfect righteousness; these will I adopt and make My sons and daughters, and these shall reign with Me through Christ eternally."  So runs that glorious side of the covenant.  The Holy Spirit also, as one of the high contracting parties on this side of the covenant, gave His declaration, "I hereby covenant," He says, "that all whom the Father gives to the Son, I will in due time give spiritual life.  I will show them their need of redemption; I will cut off from them all groundless hope, and destroy their refuges of lies.  I will bring them to the blood of sprinkling; I will give them faith whereby this blood shall be applied to them, I will work in them every grace; I will keep their faith alive; I will cleanse them and drive out all depravity from them, and they shall be presented at last spotless and faultless."  This was the one side of the covenant, which is at this very day being fulfilled and scrupulously kept.

          As for the other side of the covenant this was the part of it, engaged and covenanted by Christ.  He thus declared, and covenanted with His Father: "My Father, on my part I covenant that in the fullness of time I will become man.  I will take upon Myself the form and nature of the fallen race.  I will live in their wretched world, and for My people I will keep the law perfectly.  I will work out a spotless righteousness, which shall be acceptable to the demands of your just and holy law. In due time I will bear the sins of all my people.  You shall place their debts on Me; the chastisement of their peace I will endure, and by My stripes they shall be healed.  My Father, I covenant and promise that I will be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  I will magnify your law, and make it honorable.  I will suffer all they ought to have suffered.  I will endure the curse of Your law, and all the vials of Your wrath shall be emptied and spent upon My head.  I will then rise again; I will ascend into heaven; I will intercede for them at Your right hand; and I will make Myself responsible for every one of them, that not one of those whom You have given me shall ever be lost, but I will bring all My sheep of whom, by My blood, You have constituted Me the shepherd-I will bring every one safe to You at last."  Thus ran the covenant; and now, I think, you have a clear idea of what it was and how it stands-the covenant between God and Christ, between God the Father and God the Spirit, and God the Son as the covenant head and representative of all Gods elect.  I have told you, as briefly as I could what were the terms of it.  You will please to remark, my dear friends, that the covenant is, on one side, perfectly fulfilled.  God the Son has paid the debts of all the elect.  He has for our redemption, suffered the whole of wrath Divine.  Nothing remained now on this side of the question except that He shall continue to intercede, that He may safely bring all His redeemed to glory.
On the side of the Father this part of the covenant has been fulfilled to countless myriads.  God the Father and God the Spirit have not been late in their Divine contract.  Make note that this side shall be as fully and as completely finished and carried out as the other.  Christ can say of what He promised to do.  "It is finished!" and the like shall be said by all the glorious covenanters.  All for whom Christ died shall be pardoned, all justified, all adopted.  The Spirit shall bring life to them all, shall give them all faith, shall bring them all to heaven, and they shall, every one of them, without hindrance, stand accepted in the beloved, in the day when the people shall be numbered, and Jesus shall be glorified...

          And now having seen who were the high contracting parties, and what were the terms of the covenant made between them, let us see what were the objects of this covenant.  Was this covenant made for every man of the race of Adam?  Assuredly not!   The covenant-to come straight to the matter, however offensive the doctrine may be-the covenant has relationship to the elect and none besides.  Does this offend you?  Then be offended ever more.  What did Christ say?  "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which You have given me: for they are Yours."  If Christ prays for none except for the chosen, why should you be angry that you are also taught from the Word of God that in the covenant there was provision made for these same persons, that they might receive eternal life?  As many as shall believe, as many as shall trust in Christ, as many as shall persevere unto the end, as many as shall enter into the eternal rest, so many and no more are interested in the covenant of Divine grace.

          Furthermore, we need to consider what the motives of this covenant were.   Why was the covenant made at all?  There was no compulsion or constraint on God.  As yet there was no creature.  Even if the creature could have an influence on the Creator, there was none existing in the period when the covenant was made.  We can look nowhere for God's motive in the covenant except it be in Himself, for of God it could literally be said in that day, "I am, and there is none beside me."  Why then did He make the covenant?  I answer, absolute sovereignty dictated it.  "He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy," "for it is not of him that wills, nor of Him that runs, but of God that shows mercy."  His sovereignty elected, and His grace distinguished, and immutability decreed.  No motive dictated the election of the individuals, except a motive in Himself of love and of Divine sovereignty.  Doubtless the grand intention of God in making the covenant at all was His own glory; any motive inferior to that would be beneath His dignity. God must find His motives in Himself: He has not to look to moths and worms for motives for His deeds.  He is the "I AM."  Shall the clay ask the potter for the motive for His making it into a vessel?  Shall the thing formed before its creation dictate to its Creator?  No, let God be God, and let man shrink into his native nothingness, and if God exalt him, let him not boast as though God found a reason for the deed in man.  He finds His motives in Himself.  He is self-contained, and finds nothing beyond nor needs anything from any but Himself.  Thus have I, as fully as time permits this morning, discussed the first point concerning the covenant.  May the Holy Spirit lead us into this sublime truth.

          But now, in the second place, we come to notice ITS EVERLASTING CHARACTER.  It is called an everlasting covenant.  And here you observe at once its antiquity.  The covenant of grace is the oldest of all things.  Then, again, it is an everlasting covenant from its sureness.  Nothing is everlasting which is not secure.  Man may erect his structures and think they may last forever, but the Tower of Babel has crumbled, and the very Pyramids bear signs of ruin.  Nothing which man has made is everlasting, because he cannot ensure it against decay.  But as for the covenant of grace, David rightly spoke of it, "It is ordered in all things and sure."  It is, "Signed, and sealed, and ratified, In all things ordered well."

          There is not an "if" or a "but" in the whole of it from beginning to end.  Free-will hates God's "shalls" and "wills," and likes man's "ifs" and "buts," but there are no "ifs" and "buts" in the covenant of grace.  Therefore, the permanent status runs: "I will" and "they shall."  Jehovah swears it and the Son fulfills it.  It is-it must be true.  It must be sure, for "I AM" determines.  "Has He said and shall He not do it?  Or has He spoken, and will He not make good?" 

          It is a sure covenant.  I have sometimes said: if any man were about to build a bridge or a house and if he would leave me just one single stone or one timber to put where I liked, I believe that his house would fall down.  I would simply select the keystone and then he might erect whatever he pleased, yet it should soon fall.

          Now, the Armenian's covenant is one that cannot stand because there are one or two bricks in it that are dependent on the will of man.  So the question is left to man, and God the mighty Builder-though He put stone on stone massive as the universe-still it could be defeated by this creature.  Out with such blasphemy!  The whole structure, from beginning to end, is in the hand of God.  The very terms and conditions of that covenant have become its seals and guarantees, seeing that Jesus has fulfilled them all.  Its full accomplishment in every jot and title is sure, and must be fulfilled by Christ Jesus, whether man wills or man wills not.  It is not the creature's covenant; it is the Creators.  It is not man's covenant, it is the Almighty's covenant, and He will carry it out and perform it, the will of man notwithstanding. For this is the very glory of grace-that man hates to be saved-that he is enmity to Him, yet God will have him redeemed-that God's agreement.  "You shall," and man's intention is "I will not, and God's "shall" conquers man's, "I will not."  Almighty grace rides victoriously over the neck of free will and leads it captive in glorious captivity to the all-conquering power of irresistible grace and love.  It is a sure covenant, and therefore deserves the title of everlasting.

          Having therefore, noticed the everlasting character of the covenant, I conclude by the sweetest and most precious portion of the doctrine-the relation which the blood bears to it-THE BLOOD OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT.

            The blood of Christ stands in a fourfold relationship to the covenant.  With regard to Christ, His precious blood shed in Gethsemane, in Gabbatha and Golgotha, is the fulfillment of the covenant.  By this blood sin is canceled; by Jesus' agonies justice is satisfied; by His death the law is honored; and by that precious blood in all its mediation effectiveness, and in all its cleansing power, Christ fulfills all that He set out to do on the behalf of His people towards God.  Oh, believer, look to the blood of Christ, and remember that there is Christ's part of the covenant carried out.  And now, there remains nothing to be fulfilled but God's part, there is nothing for you to do; Jesus has done it all; there is nothing for free will to supply; Christ has done everything that God can demand.  The blood is the fulfillment of the debtor's side of the covenant, and now God becomes bound by His own solemn oath to show grace and mercy to all whom Christ has redeemed by His blood.  

          With regard to the blood in another respect: to God the Father the bond of the covenant.  When I see Christ dying on the cross, I see the everlasting God from that time, if I may use the term of Him who ever must be free, bound by His own oath and covenant to carry out every condition.  Does the covenant say, "A new heart will I give you, and a right spirit will I put within you?"  It must be done, for Jesus died, and Jesus' death is the seal of the covenant.  Does it say, "I will sprinkle pure water upon them and they will be clean; from all their iniquities will I cleanse them?"  Then it must be done, for Christ has fulfilled His part.  And, therefore, now we can present the covenant no more as a thing of doubt; but as our claim on God through Christ, and coming humbly on our knees, pleading that covenant, our heavenly Father will not deny the promises contained therein, but will make every one of them yes and amen to us through the blood of Jesus Christ.

          Then, again, the blood of the covenant has relation to us as the objects of the covenant.  This is its third light; it is not only a fulfillment as regards Christ, and a bond as regards His Father, but it is an evidence regarding ourselves.  And here, dear brothers and sisters, let me speak affectionately to you.  Are you relying entirely upon the blood?  Has His blood-the precious blood of Christ-been laid to your conscience?  Have you seen your sins pardoned, through His blood?  Have you received forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus?  Are you boasting in His sacrifice, and is His cross as your only hope and refuge?  Then you are in the covenant.  

         Some men desire to know whether they are elect.  We cannot tell them unless they will tell us this.  Do you believe?  Is your faith fixed on the precious blood?  Then you are in the covenant.  And oh, poor sinner, if you have nothing to recommend you; if you are standing back, and saying "I dare not come!  I am afraid!  I am not in the covenant!"  still Christ bids you to come.  "Come unto Me," He says.  "If you cannot come to the covenant Father, come to the covenant Surety.  Come unto Me and I will give you rest."  And when you have come to Him, and His blood has been applied to you do not doubt, but that in the red roll of election stands your name.  Can you read your name in the bloody characters of a Savior's atonement?  Then you shall read it one day in the golden letters of the Father's election.  He that believes is elected.  The blood is the symbol, the token, the earnest, the guarantee, the seal of the covenant of grace to you.  It must ever be the telescope through which you look to see the things that are afar off.  You cannot see your election with the naked eye, but through the blood of Christ you cat see it clear enough.  Trust in the blood, poor sinner, and then the blood of the everlasting covenant is a proof that you are an heir of heaven.

           Lastly, the blood stands in a relationship to all three.  And here I may add that the blood is the glory of all.  To the Son it is the fulfillment, to the Father the bond, to the sinner the evidence, and to all-To Father, Son, and sinner-it is the common glory and the common boast.  In this the Father is well pleased; in this the Son also, with joy, looks down and sees the purchase of His agonies; and in this must the sinner ever find his comfort and his everlasting song,-"Jesus, Your blood and righteousness, are my glory, my song, for ever and ever!"[1]

[1]     "The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant Delivered" on Sabbath Morning, September 4th, 1859, by the REV. C. H. Spurgeon at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens. Emphases added by author.  Also light copyediting for modernization added by author.