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| the first and sixth definitions of covenant |
I got out my 1982 dictionary to see what covenant has meant all my life. The pertinent definitions are the first and the last:
1.
A
binding and solemn agreement made by two or more individuals, parties, etc., to
do or keep from doing a specified thing; compact.
6.
Theo. The promises made by God to
man, as recorded in the Bible.
The other definitions were legalistic and/or related to
specific places. So these will do.
There’s an ancient covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, in
which Abraham promises to worship and obey the One True God, our Father and
Creator, and God promises Abraham three things: posterity, priesthood (the
authority to use God’s power and to preach God’s word), and property—a promised
land.
In that posterity blessing, Abraham is promised that all the
peoples of the world will be blessed by his seed, which will be as numerous as the
sands of the sea. That must have seemed impossible when he was a nonagenarian—and
his wife was nearly so—and they still hadn’t had a child. Abraham remained
faithful nonetheless.
As covenant is phrased in more recent scripture,
Doctrine and Covenants 82:10: “I, the Lord, am abound when ye do what I say;
but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” So, if you want to bind the
creator of the universe to do something for you, you make a covenant with Him—and
then you keep your part. If you don’t keep your part, the covenant is broken.
But the Lord does not easily give up on a covenant. The
whole book of Hosea is an allegory for how the Lord keeps his covenants. In that
book, the chosen people are metaphorically an unfaithful wife, who leaves her
husband, but he waits faithfully, and eventually she comes back. And rather
than punish her, he accepts her and continues to love her, despite the lost
years.
He wants to be in covenant with us. But that is up to us.
This nation—as we should remember in this season of
Thanksgiving, started with a covenant: the Mayflower Compact. It was signed by
the people on the Mayflower on November 21, 1620 (or November 11, if you use
the “old style” Julian calendar, which they were using at the time).
Here’s what they signed:
IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our
dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great
Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender
of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and
Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a
Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia;
Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one
another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick,
for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends
aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and
equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time,
as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the
Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience.
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| Mayflower Compact manuscript, image from here |
They formed a new “body politick” by covenant, with God as their witness.
When the 13 colonies were founded, that was by covenant. And
the new nation under the Constitution was likewise formed by covenant.
George Washington renewed the covenant with the fledgling
nation’s first Thanksgiving declaration in 1789:
It
is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God. Both
Houses of Congress requested me to recommend a day of public thanksgiving and
prayer. Now therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of
November to be devoted to the service of that great and glorious Being. That we
may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the
great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and
other transgressions. To enable us all to perform our several duties. To render
our national government a blessing to all people by being a Government of wise,
just, and constitutional laws. To protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations.
To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the
increase of science among them and us. And generally to grant unto all mankind
such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
1863
In
the midst of a Civil War of unequaled magnitude and severity, population has
steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the battlefield.
The country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is
permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No
human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great
things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing
with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. I do,
therefore, invite my fellow citizens to set apart and observe the last Thursday
of November, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise for such singular deliverances
and blessings, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to
heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it to the full enjoyment of peace,
harmony, tranquility and Union.
1864
It
has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year. It has also
pleased our Heavenly Father to favor our citizens in their homes as our
soldiers in their camps. Moreover, He has been pleased to inspire our minds and
hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient for the great trial
of Civil War into which we have been brought by our adherence to the cause of
freedom and humanity. Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, do hereby appoint and
set apart the last Thursday in November as a day to be observed by all my
fellow-citizens as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God. And I do
further recommend to my fellow-citizens that they do reverently humble
themselves in the dust and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers
and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events for a return of the
inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land which it
has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling place for ourselves and for our
posterity throughout all generations.
Glenn Beck explained today on radio about his Renew the
Covenant project, which has included a 40-day Bible covenant study, as well as
a 15-day American covenant study. (He included the Washington and Lincoln
quotes above, here, where you can access all the materials.) He says that when he was baptized (into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints), he told God that he would do whatever the Lord asked of him in
exchange for the forgiveness he was getting. The challenge has been figuring
out what the Lord wants him to do. But he has felt a need, since around 2010,
to do an event to renew America’s covenant. He tried several times, but the
timing wasn’t right. He had an event planned in 2020, with a lot of resources
already going toward it, that got cancelled because of the pandemic, which was
frustrating.
Then this summer he started feeling a strong push to do
something to make it happen. He was thinking, how can I bring together a large enough group?
And, as he told it one day, when he was announcing this project, the Lord said
to him, “I don’t know. Where could you come up with, say, 12 million people willing to listen
to you?” which was the number of listeners he has on radio daily. So there it
was. Nothing like this had been done on radio before. But he—and a team—put together
the materials for the forty days of preparation. And today he presented the
covenant, written for us to print out, sign our names to, and keep or frame or
whatever. It might be something you'll want to go over and sign with your families on Thanksgiving Day.
But he warns—as Cahn has—don’t make a covenant with God
unless you plan to keep it. God will not be mocked. You’ll make the country
worse off, if you sign it and don’t mean to keep it.
What happens if there aren’t enough of us that Renew the
Covenant? I don’t know. I assume we personally will be better off than if we
didn’t do it. And maybe enough will do it. Glenn’s listeners have done
remarkable things before, in humanitarian aid and rescue, and just in doing our
civic duty. The Lord would have saved Sodom and Gomorrah if Abraham had been
able to find only 50, or 40, or 30, or 20, or even 10 righteous people. (See Genesis
18:26-33.) I don’t know what percentage of the two cities 10 people were,
but it had to be just a comparative handful. The Lord is generous.
As I read through the wording of the renewal covenant (see below), I could see that I am already
a covenant keeper. I have been, as well as I have known how, all of my life,
and I made the baptismal covenant at age 8 (also into The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints). While I didn’t do Glenn’s daily reading for 40
days, I did several catch up days. But I was reading quite a lot of scripture
daily in addition—as I have done for many decades. And prayer is already part
of my daily life—I can’t remember a single day when it wasn’t. And I have
shared my faith with my family. As Joshua says (Joshua 24:15) the people should
choose whom they will serve, “but as for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord.” Later in the chapter (verses 24-25) the people promise to serve the true
and living God, “So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day.” Then he
set up the laws of the land based on that covenant.
People are blessed when they live in a covenant relationship
with the Most High God.
So here is the covenant that Glenn Beck has drafted for us—in
what I hope will be a worthwhile effort to renew the covenant upon which
America was founded. (You can get a pdf. version here.)
The Covenant
I, STATE YOUR
NAME, alongside my fellow countrymen, and as a witness to my nation and the
Almighty, now come forward in humility to covenant that the Lord is my God. I
further covenant to remember to regularly commune with Him through prayer; to
turn away from sin and error; to rear my family in righteousness, in patience,
love, and kindness; to discern and sustain the law; and to perform my several
duties properly, punctually, and to the utmost.
Now, if the Lord shall please to hear us, and inasmuch as we honor this
covenant, then shall His bounty be poured down upon us as has never been seen.
We humbly implore and beg His protection and favor; that we may experience His
everlasting peace and concord; that our own sins, those of our family, those of
our nation may be pardoned; that the disunity in our country and suffering may
be healed, that once again our family shall delight in each other, and we shall
rejoice together, mourn together, and increase together. The Lord will be our
God and delight to dwell among our families, so that we partake of His wisdom,
power, goodness, and truth. Love and solidarity shall reign within our
households.
May our nation unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks
for His kind care, for His protection, that He may promote the knowledge and
practice of true religion and virtue. He shall grant unto this nation temporal
prosperity as He alone knows to be best. No human counsel hath devised, nor
hath any mortal hand created this great nation. It is the gracious gift of the
Most High God. Only his tender care shall heal this nation's wounds. He will
raise it to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, union, and
plenty.
He has made us a city upon a hill. The eyes of all
people are upon us. We enlist His almighty hand that we may once again choose
life, that we and our seed may live by obeying His voice and cleaving to Him.
He is our life and our prosperity. May my family and this country ever stand in
solemn testimony of the most High.
Amen.
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