Sermon # 185 Series: Isaiah

Title: “The Sure Mercies of David”

Text: Isaiah 53:3

Subject: The Covenant of Grace and It’s Sure Blessings

Date: Sunday Evening – July 24, 1994

Introduction:

Last Sunday I tried to expound to you the gracious invitation of our text. God in heaven here gives A Free Grace Invitation To Sinners – “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear and your soul shall live.” Today, I want to set before you the promise of this text. Here the Lord Jehovah declares that he is ready to enter into a covenant with sinful men. If you will hear his voice and come to Christ by faith God himself will “make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. This seems to me to be one of the most astonishing truths of divine revelation. God Almighty is ready to put himself in a binding contract with poor, insignificant, guilty, sinful men. God is willing to enter into a covenant with man; yes, with you and with me. Can you grasp this thought? God binds himself by a solemn promise, gives his sacred pledge, and enter into a holy contract of mercy with the fallen sons of Adam!

God always deals with men on the basis of a covenant. God made a covenant with Adam. “This do, and thou shalt live.” But Adam broke the covenant. Under the law man’s weakness and sin were made manifest by the covenant of works. The law said, Keep such and such commandments, and you shall be rewarded accordingly. But “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” That covenant of works failed because man did not keep God’s law. We broke the terms of the covenant. No man ever has, or ever could have obtained righteousness, acceptance, or reward with God by the works of the old covenant.

The old covenant of works is a useless thing out of which no salvation can ever come. That old covenant pronounces guilt, sin, and condemnation. It shows us our need of Christ. Gut it can never save. It shows us that if ever man is to be saved and accepted with God, it must be by the grace and mercy of God, it must be by the grace and mercy of God through the merits of a Mediator. Therefore, God comes to us in another way. He says, “I will make a new covenant with you, not according the covenant that I made with your fathers.” And in compliance with his promise God sent his Son to fulfill the old covenant of the word of the law and to establish the new covenant of grace – “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Now, beloved, This new covenant is a covenant of pure, free, and immutable grace. It is a covenant made not for the world but for the unworthy. It is an absolutely free and unconditional covenant. Every proposed condition of the covenant was perfectly fulfilled by our great Representative and Surety, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a covenant “ordered in all things and sure.” There is not an “if” or a “but” in it. It is a covenant of “shalls” and “wills.” God says, “I will and they shall.” This is just such a covenant as we require. It will land everyone, who is made a partaker in it, safely in heaven. Before we look at the promised mercies of the covenant, let me make some remarks about the covenant itself.

This covenant of Grace is Eternal.
The contracting parties in this covenant are the Three Persons of the Sacred Trinity.
Our Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily became our Surety in the Covenant.
This Covenant of Grace was made in Our Behalf.
Living upon the earth in Perfect Righteousness as our Representative, and Dying Under the Penalty of the Law as our Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled every stipulation of the Covenant.
And now, by virtue of Christ’s perfect obedience, every blessing of the covenant is sure to all God’s Elect. (Heb. 9:15).

This covenant now has the effect of our Redeemer’s last will and testament. Today, I am going to do little more than read to you our Lord’s will. This is what he covenanted to secure. And having secured it, this is what he has bequeathed to us.

Proposition: Every blessing of the Covenant of Grace is Sure to All God’s Elect by the Decree of God and by the Death of His Son.

Now, I am going to set before you Twelve Covenant Mercies – Here are twelve things that God has promised to do for those who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Here are twelve covenant mercies secured to us by the death of Christ. Truly, “He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” (Heb. 8:6). Read Jeremiah 31:31-34.

I. Here is the first mercy of the covenant that I will mention – The Lord God Promised To Give His People A Saving Knowledge of Himself. (Jer. 31:34).

Man by nature does not know God; and he cannot know God in a saving way, unless God reveals himself. Blind Bartimaius saw no light until the Lord Jesus spoke to him. Saul of Tarsus was a blind, self-righteous bigot, until the light of the glory of God shined into his soul.

A. This Saving Knowledge of God Is In Jesus Christ.

You cannot know God in a saving way, apart from Jesus Christ. Christ is the Mediator in whom God is revealed. (John 6:45; 17: ).

Who is he?
What has he done?
Why did he do it?
Where is he now?

B. Now, My Friends, God Alone Can Give You This Saving Knowledge of Christ. (I Cor. 2:9-10; II Cor. 4:3-6; I John 2:20).

God uses men to preach the gospel to sinners.
But no man will ever see the glory of God, until Christ is revealed in his heart.

II. Here is the second covenant mercy – God’s Love Is Written In The Hearts of His People. (Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:20).

The man who is born of God loves the law of God. The law accesses me. But I would not have it altered. I bow to the law, confessing its truthfulness and the righteousness of it’s accusations.

A. When The Law Is Written In Our Hearts We See Its Spirituality.

B. When The Law Is Written In Our Hearts We Desire To Honor It.

C. When The Law Is Written In Our Hearts We Are Driven To Christ – Here we have the fulfillment of the law – (I John 3:23).

1. By faith in Christ, we establish the law.

By brotherly love, we fulfil the law.

III. Our third covenant mercy is this – God Promised Us a Free and Full Pardon of Sin. (Jer. 31:34; Heb. 8:12).

Oh, this is a great mercy of the covenant! You who are without sin will see nothing great in this. But for those who know their sin, nothing is more blessed than Divine Pardon.

A. God Himself Forgives All Our Sin

Through the merits of Christ’s righteousness and shed blood, God forgives our sin. He blots it out. He treats us as though we had never sinned. “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

B. And God, For Christ’s Sake, Forgets Our Sin. “I will remember their sin no more.”

Child of God, get hold of this. God will never mention your sins again, because he has forgotten them. He has forgotten them because they are gone. Christ took them away!

IV. In the fourth place – God Promised In The Covenant To Reconcile Us To Himself. (Jer. 32:38).

The offence is put away. The sin is pardoned. That would be great mercy. But God goes on. Grace is unbounded, abundant, and infinite. God says. “They shall be my people, and I will be their God.” “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!” (I John 3:1). What astounding grace!

We are guilty – “I will be their God.” We are sinful – “I will be their God.” We are vile – “I will be their God.” We are condemned – “I will be their God.” We are children of wrath – “I will be their God.” We are adulterers, fornicators, drunkards, whoremongers, blasphemers, murders, thieves, and liars. Still, God says, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

V. Here is the fifth blessing of the covenant – God Promises To Bring His People Into True Godliness (Jer. 32:39).

True godliness is not outward conformity to certain rules and regulations. It is an inward conformity of the heart to the Lord.

A. God gives all his people One Heart – A Heart of Love.

All of God’s elect love Christ.
They all love one another.

B. God gives all his people One Way – That Way is Jesus Christ-

Faith in Christ.
Submission to Christ.
Obedience to Christ.

C. And God Teaches His People To Fear Him.

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. This is true godliness, a heart fear of God.

VI. In the sixth place, God Promises To Preserve His People In Covenant Mercy – (Jer. 32:40).

A. God Will Not Turn Away From Us To Do Us Good.

He will preserve us.
He will protect us. } The Lord our God will do us good – (Rom. 8:28).
He will provide for us.

B. God Will Not Let Us Depart From Him – He will not leave us, neither will he let us leave him.

VII. The seventh covenant mercy is this – God Promises To Cleanse Us. (Ez. 36:25).

God graciously cleanses us from all our filthiness and all our idols.

A. The Blood of Christ Cleansed Us.

B. The Word of God Cleanses Us – (John 15:3).

VII. But that is not all. In the eighth place – The Lord Promised, According To The Covenant, To Give Us A New Heart. (Ezek. 36:26).

In the new birth God gives his people a new heart. This is a work which God alone can perform.

A. The Old, Natural Heart Must Be Removed, Because It Is Evil.

1. It is a deceitful heart.

2. It is a sinful heart.

3. It is a proud heart.

4. It is a stony heart.

Like a stone, it is hard.
Like a stone, it is cold.
Like a stone, it is barren.
Like a stone, it is dead.

B. But God Gives His People A New Heart. (II Cor. 5:17) – It is a heart with new tastes, new feelings, new principles, new motives, new desires, and new ambitions. Has God given you a new heart?

This is a broken and contrite heart.
This is a believing heart.
This is a purified heart.
This is a submissive heart.
This is a praying heart.

IX. The ninth covenant mercy is this – God Has Promised To Give His Spirit To Us. (Ez. 36: 27).

Since Jesus Christ died and rose again, the Holy Spirit is given to those who believe. (Gal. 3:13-14). If you are God’s child, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. The Holy Spirit dwells in us as:

A. The Spirit of Adoption.

B. Our Divine Comforter.

C. Our Divine Teacher.

D. Our Divine Guide.

E. Our Divine Preserver.

F. Our Divine Seal – He is the Seal of The Covenant.

X. In the tenth place - God Promised In The Covenant To Give Us Repentance. (Ex. 36:31).

Free grace makes men loathe themselves. When the glory and grace of God in Christ is revealed in a man’s heart, that man will loathe himself – Divine grace strips away human pride.

XI. This is the eleventh covenant mercy that I will mention – God Promises To Give Sinful Men Communion And Fellowship With Himself. (Ez. 37:26-28). (John 14:23).

Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. We are his people, his priests, his servants, his children, and his friends. But there is more. We are the temple of the living God. What happens when God dwells with men in sweet communion?

A. He gives us Peace.

B. He Sanctifies our Hearts.

C. He Preserves us.

XII. In the twelfth place – God Has Promised In The Covenant of Grace To Lovingly Chastise His People. (Ps. 89:30-34).

Yes, there is a rod in the covenant. We may spoil our children. But God never spoils his. “Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth.” Let me just say this about God’s chastening rod.

A. God will never cause His children to Suffer Needlessly.

B. All of Your Sorrows and Afflictions Come From The Hand of A Loving Father.

C. Soon you will See God’s Purpose In Making You Suffer.

D. Though your chastisements May Cause You Much Sorrow – God’s Covenant Still Stands

At the end, the Father’s rod will land you safe in glory.

Application:

1. Children of God, bless your heavenly Father for the everlasting covenant of his grace. (Eph. 1:3).

I say, God is ready to enter into such a covenant as this forever believing sinner. Repent this day. Believe on Christ. Come to God by faith in him – And he says – “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.”

The door of mercy is wide open. Will you enter in?