As human covenants were usually ratified by sacrifices, so were the divine covenants ; the design of which was to spew that without an atonement there could be no communication of blessing from God to man. Thus, when God made a covenant with Abraham, certain victims were slain and divided into halves, between which a smoking fur nace and a burning lamp, the symbols of the divine presence, passed, to indicate the ratification of the promises conveyed in that covenant to Abraham ; and here it is deserving of notice, as illustrating the definition of a divine covenant above given, that the divine glory alone passed between the pieces ; whereas had the covenant been one of mutual stipulation, Abraham also would have per formed the same ceremony (Gen. xv. 1-18 ; cf. Rosenmiiller, in loc.) In like manner, the Leviti cal covenant was ratified by sacrifice (Exod. xxiv. 6-8); and the Apostle expressly affirms, on this ground, the necessity of the death of Christ, as the mediator of the new covenant (Heb. ix. 15). In supporting this assertion, the writer uses the term Stalin; in a way which has caused much perplexity to interpreters. The A. V. renders the word by testament throughout the context. But the use of ((UCH here, in contrast with rpcbrn, as applied to ocathrry, plainly shews that the latter is to be taken in the sense of covenant in ver. 15. It is also plain, that in ver. 20 we must give it the same meaning. But can it have this meaning in ver. 16 and 17 ? The difficulty here arises from the use of ScaWiLepos in ver. 16. This word denotes pro perly the person by whom the acaehicn has been made or established ; it cannot mean, as same have proposed, 'the victim' But how can the validity of a covenant be said to depend on the death of him by whom it is made ? For to say that the Apostle's meaning is, that man in enter ing into covenant with God must give himself up to death, and that this is denoted by the sacrifice he presents (Ebrard), is to offer what is far fetched to be accepted. It would seem from this, that we are shut up to the rendering 'testament' and testator' here. On the other hand, however, it seems highly improbable that the author would employ a word in the centre of his reasoning in a different sense from that in which it is used through out the context ; and besides, In what sense can it be said that wherever there is a testament it neces sarily involves the notoriety or forensic establish ment (Opeo-Oat) of the death of the testator? or that a will is rendered firm or sure (k3ala) upon dead persons or things, and is invalid so long as the testator lives ? The will surely is as good and sure in itself the moment it is duly signed, as it can be at the time of the testator's death, though it does not take effect till then. It is difficult also to follow out the Apostle's reasoning here on the supposition that he is speaking of a testament and a testator. The passage is full of difficulty, and nothing very satisfactory has yet been advanced upon it. The only gleam of light that seems to offer itself comes in connection with the proposal to take StaBigevor in the sense of the person who establishes or con firms? It is of this the writer is speaking here ; not of the making of the Siaelixn, or of the pub lishing, or of the proving of it, but of the constitut ing it a firm and stable thing, as is evident from his use of fileflala and io-xv'Et in the next verse. Now, 8LarteecrOat is used in the LXX. frequently as the equivalent of weg, which properly means to cause to stand, or to establish or conger ; and in this sense it is used in relation to• a atalilyor, Gen. ix, 17. It is also used in this relation as the equivalent of r7, to constitute, or confirm, in Josh.
vii. r r. In Wisd. of Sol. xviii. 9, we read Thy rijs 5a6-np-os otiOevro, which can only mean, ' they set up or established, or held valid the law of the Deity.' Now, if this rendering be admitted, the difficulty of the passage will somewhat disap pear. Christ, says the Apostle, has died to give effect to the first covenant, that depending on his dying ; for, where a covenant is, there is a neces sity that there be adduced (OpEcrOat = adferri, pro ferri) the death of that which confirms it ; [and this is necessary], for a covenant is firm over dead [objects], since it is never at any time valid whilst the [sacrifice] which confirms it lives.' The only
difficulty left, is that which arises from the use of the masculine otaitzevos here ; but may not this be accounted for by the writer having in his mind Christ as the confirmer of that covenant which he had chiefly in his view here ? Of the divine covenants mentioned in Scripture the first place is due to that which is emphatically styled by Jehovah, My covenant.' This is God's gracious engagement to confer salvation and eter nal glory on all who come to him through Jesus Christ. It is called sometimes 'the everlasting covenant' (Is. lv. 3 ; Hely. xiii. 20), to distinguish it from those more temporary arrangements which were confined to particular individuals or classes ; and the second, or new, or better covenant, to dis tinguish it from the Levitical covenant, which was first in order of time, because first ratified by sacri fice, and became old, and was shewn to be infrior, because on the appearance of the Christian dispen sation it was superseded, and passed away ( Jer. xxxi. 3r ; Gal. iv. 24 ; Heb. vii. 22 ; viii. 6-r; ; r5-23 ; xii. 24). Though this covenant was not, strictly speaking, ratified before the death of Christ, the great sacrificial victim (Heb. xlit. 20), yet it was revealed to the saints who lived before his ad vent, and who enjoyed salvation through the retro spective power of his death (Rom. iii. 25 ; Heb. ix. I5): To the more highly favoured of these God gave specific assurances of his gracious purpose, and on such occasions he was said to establish or make his covenant with them. Thus he established his covenant with Noah (Gen. ix. 8, 9) ; with Abraham (Gen. xvii.. 4, 5) ; and with David (Ps. lxxxix. 3, 4). These were not distinct covenants, so much as renewals of the promises of the ever lasting covenant, coupled with certain temporal favours, as types and pledges of the fulfilment of these promises.
The old or Sinitic covenant was that given by God to the Israelites through Moses. It respected especially the inheritance of the land of Canaan, and the temporal blessings therewith connected ; but it stood related to thenew covenant, as em bodying a typical representation of those great truths and blessings which the Christian dispensa tion unfolds and conveys.
In the system of a certain class of theologians great importance is attached to what they have technically called the covenant of works.' By this they intend the constitution established by God with Adam during the period of his innocence. So far as this phraseology is not understood to imply that man, even in his sinless state, was compe tent to bind Jehovah by any conditions, it cannot be objected to. It seems also to have the sanction of one passage of Scripture, viz., Hos. vi. 7, which Montanus, Grotius, Castalio, Burk, Rosenmiiller, Newcome, Hitzig, and almost all the best inter preters, agree in rendering thus : But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant.' Theologians have also spoken of the covenant of redemption,' by which they mean an engage ment entered into between God the Father and God the Son from all eternity, whereby the former secured to the latter a certain number of ransomed sinners, as his church or elect body, and the latter engaged to become their surety and substitute. By many the propriety of this doctrine has been doubted ; but the references to it in Scripture are of such a kind that it seems unreasonable to refuse to admit it. With it stand connected the subjects of election, predestination, the special love of Christ to his people, and the certain salvation of all that the Father hath•given him.
Sometimes a mere human contract is called God's covenant, in the sense of involving an appeal to the Almighty, who as the Judge of the whole earth, will hold both parties ound to fulfil their engagement. Compare I Sam. xx. 8; Jet% xxxiv. rS, 19 ; Ezek. xvii. IS, 19. Witsius, De aCono mid Flea'erum ; Russell, On the Old and New Covenants, 2d edit. 1843 ; Kelly, The Divine Cove nants: their nature and design, etc. Lond. 186r.) —W. L. A.