Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

obey"mind."yours."yours."up."ones."The Spirit in Which We Covenantby Rev. D. Howard ElliottIt was their silver wedding anniversary. Theyhad been happily married for twenty-five years. Tobe sure they had their ups and downs, times whenthey did not seem to be in complete harmony. Butthey were happy in their relationship and wanted itcontinued. So this western Pennsylvania couple decided that they would reenact the scene of a quarterof a century ago, and renew the vows they had taken.They went back to the same church where they hadbeen married, hunted up the same minister, and wentthrough the ceremony again, repromising their loveand devotion.They had belonged to each other for years, butby this procedure, they were recommitting themselves to each other. All over again they were saying,"I am Some would say that all this was unhadn't they done it once, twenty-fivenecessaryyears ago ? Yet they felt that this new expression oflove, this fresh attempt at devotion, this remaking ofvows to each other would deepen the sacredness oftheir married life and strengthen their joys, hopesand enthusiasm.In principle, this is the very thing that we dohere. As believers in Christ we are renewing thatmost sacred relationship with Christ, we are remembering our eternal union with Him. In the past,our part of this relationship has fallen far short ofthe ideal. Now we again make our vows and give newexpressions of love and devotion. We recommit ourselves to our Christ, promising to "love, honor andHim. To Him we are saying, "I am Tothe world we are saying, "I am His."As in the marriage relationship, our covenantrelationship with the Lord is primarily a relationship of love. Ideally it is whole-hearted, undividedlove to the Lord. This is the Lord's first requirementupon all those who would claim to belong to Him, forHe said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with allthy heart, and with all thy soul,and with all thyExcept this experience of covenanting beprompted by the love of God, its effect is nothingmore than that of a clanging cymbal.It was God's love for men that caused Him toestablish the Covenant of Grace whereby we mayhave eternal blessings. And since then, no covenantthat man has made with God has ever been effectual,that has not had its beginnings in the spirit of love.Without that spirit of love to God, a covenant isnothing more than a profitless, outward form. Without the spirit of love, this covenant cannot contributeto the reviving of our souls, nor will we keep thepromises we make herein.If this is to be more than a mere formality, itwill depend on THE SPIRIT IN WHICH WE COVENANT. In order for this to be a glorious experience,it must be grounded in love and accompanied bythese three essential attitudes, humility of mind, integrityof heart, and submission of soul. When youput the first letter of each of these together youhave the word "HIS," which sums up our whole declaration. We are saying to all concerned, "We areHis."Yet we are His only if we enter into this cove-nant with humility of mind, integrity of heart, andsubmission of soul.I.By this service we are not laying on God anyobligation. We are taking the obligations upon ourselves of seeking God anew, and of serving Him asloving servants. The fulfilling of these obligationsresults in spiritual revival. But we cannot seek Godnor serve Him properly without HUMILITY OFMIND. We cannot expect to be revived or lifted upwithout humility of mind. Isaiah 57:15 reads, "Forthus saith the high and lofty One that inhabitseternity, whose name is Holy : I dwell in the high andholy place, with him also that is of a contrite andhumble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble, andto revive the heart of the contrite Also James4:10 says, "Humble yourselves in the sight of theLord, and He shall lift you There can be no approach to God nor uplift of spirit without humility ofmind.A person is never properly humble without recognition of his failures and sins. This is the veryheart of all humility. As soon a we see how farshort we fall of the ideal and recognize our unworthiness, we have planted the seed from which truehumility springs.Hence it is fitting that a part of our covenantbe a confession of sin. When I recognize and confessmy sin, then am I humbled before the AlmightyGod. Only then am I able to practice Paul's injunction of Romans 12:3, "For I say, through the gracegiven unto me, to every man that is among you, notto think of himself more highly than he ought tothink; but to think soberly, according as God hathdealt to every man the measure of faith."This required attitude is extremely difficultnay, well nigh impossible except that one sees himself in the light of the person of Jesus Christ, whomakes all mortals look miserable by way of comparison. In seeing Christ, one sees himself and all prideTHE COVENANTER WITNESSIssued each Wednesday by the Publication Board of theREFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHOP NORTH AMERICAat 129 West 6th Street, Newton, Kansas orthrough its editorial office at 1209 Boswell Avenue, Topeka Kansasto promote Bible Standards of Doctrine, Worship and LifeFor individuals, churches and nationsOpinions expressed in our columns are those of the individual writers ;not necessarily the views of the Covenanter Church or of the Editor.Dr. Raymond Taggart, D.D., Editor1209 Boswell Avenue, Topeka KansasContributing EditorsFrank E. Allen, D.D.Prof. William H. EussellWalter McCarroll, D.D.Remo I. Robb. D.D.Departmental EditorsRev. John O. EdgarMrs. J. O. EdgarMrs. Ross LatimerSubscription rates; $2.50 per year; Overseas, $3.00; Single Copies10 cents.undeftKctVSarchtR' B- Ly