Chapter Three: The Law Within

The predictions concerning the new covenant recorded in Jeremiah 31:31-34, is so important in its bearings upon the object which we have in view that, although the passage is very familiar, I beg to quote it in full:

“Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord; but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Every clause of this prophecy is worthy of serious meditation, and if it were germain to our immediate purpose, the whole prediction might be profitably analyzed and discussed. I have introduced it here, however, mainly to call attention to its leading promise: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” This is one of those “better promises” mentioned by the author of Hebrews when he says of Christ that “he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises” given unto us—promises which enable us to be “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). In view, therefore, of the heights to which this covenant is designed to lead us, we are not surprised to find it spoken of not as a modification or emendation of the old, but in contrast with it. It is new; it is not “according” to the old; it is not like it; it is essentially and radically different. And the root of this difference—that out of which the other differentiae spring and grow—is the fact, already stated, that the law of the Lord is put in the inward parts, and written in the heart. We are to understand, consequently, that this is contemplated as one of the distinctive peculiarities and essential characteristics of the Christian religion. It may and must, as a matter of course, have its externals. In order to its propagation and conservation, it must be exhibited and maintained as an institution, having all needful organs, forms and ceremonies. The revelation of God’s law and truth was also wisely given us, first of all, in an outward and visible form. He did not choose to fill us immediately with his divine light, thus making us a law unto ourselves; he provided rather for our growth — that we should gradually attain unto the statue of perfect men in Christ Jesus. It is probable that angels, owing to the excellency of their character, and the perfection of their relations to God, may receive from him directly a fullness of knowledge of which we can have no adequate conception. But for creatures such as we are, imperfect, weak and sinful, and subject to daily trials and manifold temptations, our educational and disciplinary wants require something different. It was the Evil One who tempted our first parents to seek immediate knowledge — to “become as gods, knowing good and evil;” but it is far better for us to reach the heights of attainable knowledge through faith—faith in a distinct and outward Divine Person, and in his audible and written communications. Thus is maintained that feeling of dependence so appropriate to our low estate and condition, while little by little we grow into godlikeness. This, as I understand it, is the underlying, or, rather, the pervading principle of that new covenant promise which we now have in mind. It does not mean, I suppose, that we can ever in this life cut loose from the outward letter and become independent of it; we are to study it; to meditate upon it; to drink it in; and so to transfer it more and more from the outer form to the inner life, and thus to change it, so to speak, from “letter” into “spirit.”

It will be perceived, therefore, that, in thinking of the fulfillment of this “better promise,” we should by no means entertain a mechanical conception of it. What the Lord does in the case is not a transaction, but a process; not something done and completed once for all, but a continuing and progressive work. The divine will and the revealed truth are gradually instilled by him more and more into our heart, as we become better and better prepared to receive them. The heart is the proper place for his word, and it is there that he is seeking to “put” it and to “write” it; but the heart is the center of spiritual life, and his work, therefore, can proceed only in harmony with our own living processes as manifested successive stage of development and growth. It was not by accident, therefore, that the apostle conjoined the growth in grace and in knowledge. The two will always be in proportion and concurrence.

I beg only to add that the final completion of the process which God is carrying on within us, and always with our cooperation, will be that very “perfection” towards which, I trust, we are all actively moving. When the new covenant promise shall have been fulfilled in us — when God’s gracious purpose shall have been thoroughly accomplished — we shall need nothing more. In heart and life and purpose we shall be at one with him; the very fountain of our being will be pure and good, and we shall “stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12).

I have consumed so much time in seeking to excite the reader’s interest on the subject, and to set forth its supreme and vital importance, that I have not reserved to myself sufficient space in which to discuss, with proper discrimination and care, certain practical phases and details, which in any case would merit a separate chapter. Postponing, therefore, the consideration of these, it will suffice here to invoke the reader’s own calm and thoughtful meditation upon the whole subject. And let me say that it would be well for us to realize that we are here on holy ground; that we are drawing very near to God; that we are entering into the very secret of his counsels, and becoming acquainted with his purpose. Let us remember also that these purposes have reference to us, and that he is seeking to accomplish them in us and for us. We are parties to this Great Covenant, and it cannot be executed without us. We must concur and cooperate with God; and in order to do this we must seek to understand his purpose, and to appreciate its deep significance and vast importance. But if our hearts and sympathies are right—if we really desire to please him, and to be co-workers with him— we may confidently rely, whatever our shortcomings, upon his long suffering patience; for he is slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy