“‘This is the covenant that I will make… after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.’
“Thus says the Lord,
who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name:
‘If this fixed order departs
from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
from being a nation before me forever.’
“Thus says the Lord:
‘If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
for all that they have done,
declares the Lord.’” Jeremiah 31:33-37
The eternal God is potentate from everlasting to everlasting and ruler of nevermore and forever. In the scheme and parameters of time, His promises for the future are already certain, and He knows all things but forgets what he chooses not to remember. Indeed, His ways are not our own, nor His endless measures comprehensible to our finite minds. (Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 55:8-9; Hebrews 8:12)
When the Lord wants us to understand the gravity and certainty of His word, He speaks in lofty concepts to instill in us lofty thought and affection for Him. His majesty and high position are beyond our understanding, and in their grandeur reflect on and undergird His great and gracious promises. This is His covenant, thus says He, so we can wholly trust His word: that He has put His law in our hearts, He is our God, we are His people, we are forgiven. These truths are as sure as the rising sun.
What does it mean for our everyday that no more is He beyond our reach of faith but His Spirit actually indwells His children? He is counselor, comforter, and helper! What courage and confidence can I espouse because of Christ’s merciful gift of salvation, instead of nursing insecurities while comparing myself to others? I am His and He is mine! What habits or sins need I put away forever, so that my daily hours escape their influence and forget their hold? And how does God’s perpetual love for me give the will and hope to do so? (John 14:16,26; Acts 17:24-28; Ephesians 1:13-14)
“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in God’s excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.” ~George Keith (1787)
Lord , keep me trusting and rejoicing in Your no more and forever.
As the rain and snow 