Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

August 13– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“I [God] will remember my covenant.'”

—Genesis 9:15

Notice the form of this promise. God does not say, “And when you will look upon the rainbow, and you remember my covenant, then I will not destroy the earth.” No! God does not rest his promise upon our memory, which is fickle and frail but, rather, upon his memory which is infinite and immutable. It is God’s remembering me which is the ground of my safety! It is not my laying hold of his covenant, but his covenant’s laying hold on me. Glory be to God!

All of the walls of salvation are secured by divine power, and even the minor towers, which we might think have been left up to us to build, are guarded by almighty strength. Even the remembrance of the covenant is not left to our memories, for we might forget. But our Lord cannot forget the saints whom he has etched on the palms of his hands.

It is the same with us as with Israel in Egypt; the blood was applied to the lintel and the two side-posts of the house, but the Lord did not say “When you see the blood I will pass over you” but, rather, “When I see the blood I will pass over you.” It is not our looking to the blood, but it is God’s looking to Jesus which secures my salvation; indeed, it is impossible for God to look at Christ, our bleeding Guarantee, and then to be angry with us for sins already punished in him.

No, even our own salvation is not left up to us, for not a single thread of the creature mars the fabric of God’s deliverance. Salvation is not of man, nor by man, but of the Lord alone. Yes, we remember the covenant, too—and we will remember it because of divine grace—, but the hinge of our safety does not hang on our remembrance of it but on God’s. This is why the covenant is an everlasting covenant.” [M&E]