The Language of Covenant - Part 2
By Walter Giddings
March 16, 2025
2 Chronicles 29:10
“…it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel.”
In Lesson 1, The Language of Covenant, did we learn the Marriage Covenant is God’s Schoolmaster to teach us the nature of Covenant, and how to be Covenantkeepers? Shall we do a brief Review? (Jeremiah 3:14). Did we see evidence under The Old Covenant of God’s Schoolmaster, the Marriage Covenant?
14 Turn, O backsliding children,
saith the LORD; for I am married
unto you: and I will take you one
of a city, and two of a family, and I
will bring you to Zion:
Jeremiah chapter three.
Did we find evidence under the New Covenant of God’s Schoolmaster, the Marriage Covenant? (2 Corinthians 11:2). Does the Apostle Paul speak of the work of Evangelism here?
2 For I am jealous over you with
Godly jealousy: for I have espoused
you to one husband, that I may pre-
sent you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Second Corinthians chapter eleven.
“I have espoused you to one husband.” Does Paul say the “one husband” is Christ? (Exodus 24:3) Was there a marriage ceremony under the Old Covenant?
3 And Moses came and told all the
people the words of the LORD, and
all the judgments: and all the people
answered with one voice, and said,
All the words which the LORD hath
said, will we do.
(v.v. 9-11). Was there a marriage feast under the Old Covenant?
c 9 Then went up Moses and Aaron,
Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of
the elders of Israel:
p 10 And they saw the God of Israel :
and there was under his feet as it
were a paved work of sapphire stone,
and as it were the body of heaven in
his clearness.
c 11 And upon the nobles of the child-
ren of Israel he laid not his hand: al-
so they saw God, and did eat and
drink.
Exodus chapter twenty-four.
“They saw God and did eat and drink.” (Revelation 19:9). Will there be a wedding feast under the New Covenant?
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Bless-
ed are they which are called unto the
Marriage Supper of the Lamb. And he
saith unto me, These are the true say-
ings of God.
Revelation chapter nineteen.
“These are the true sayings of God.” (Ephesians 6:11). Are we ignorant of the wiles of the Devil?
11 Put on the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians chapter six.
(2 Corinthians 2:10-11). Are we ignorant of the devices of Satan?
p 10 To whom ye forgive anything, I
forgive also: for if I forgave any-
thing, to whom I forgave it, for your
sakes, forgave I it in the person of
Christ;
c 11 Lest Satan should get an advan-
tage of us: for we are not ignorant
of his devices.
Second Corinthians chapter two.
Would Satan, that old Serpent, fail to attack Marriage, to destroy the Schoolmaster for Covenant? Do we sleep, and He doesn’t?
We finished Lesson 1, The Language of Covenant, scouting the unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America for the language of a covenant:
“...appealing to the Supreme Judge of the
world for the rectitude of our intentions...”
“… with a firm reliance on the protection
of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to
each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our
sacred honor.”
Action of Second Continental Congress July 4, 1776.
Having noted in Lesson 1 that covenants most often contain pledges, promises, or even sacred vows, we ended with a question! We did so because it has been said that an effective Sermon does a minimum of 3 things! The Herald or Preacher makes us:
(1) hear The Word of God,
(2) touch our Hearts, and
(3) leave us with the Choice.
“...we mutually pledge...” Is this The Language of Covenant? What is The Holy Spirit telling us? Does The Holy Spirit, alone, have the Power of Conviction”? Must the Answer come only from within our Hearts? Is within our hearts where The Holy Spirit alone plies His Power of Conviction? This ends our brief Review.
Because of the constraints of time, I had put a wrap on Lesson 1. As I closed my copy of The Declaration of Independence, I noticed the phrase “the rectitude of our intentions” again. This Question popped into my mind: what was our Fore-fathers’ 1st Intention? Opening my copy again, I reread the 1st Paragraph:
“...and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Op. cit.
Which Term, first as an adjective, and second as a noun, is repeated? Do we recall, Lesson 4, Covenantkeepers, from The Light and the Glory, pp. 207-208, authors Marshall and Manuel quoted from the Puritan Pastor Rev. Thomas Hooker’s Sermon, “The Sum of Church Discipline”?
“Mutual covenanting and confederating of the saints in the fellowship of the faith according to the order of the Gospel, is that which gives constitution and being to a visible church...”
Marshall and Manuel. The Light and the Glory. pp. 207-208.
On the basis of this quote from Hooker’s Sermon, we faced this Question: What must happen first before “mutual covenanting and confederating of the saints in the fellowship of the faith according to the order of the Gospel” can occur? Before we could struggle long with that Question, one of our Elders, here, in Fellowship of God’s Covenant People answered “Separation”! Can we have “mutual covenanting and confederating of the saints in the fellowship of the faith” outside “the order of the gospel”??? Do we recall the Pilgrims becoming the Pilgrims when they separated themselves from the Church under control of the Monarchy? From that point on The Counterfeit persecuted the Genuine Remnant Church! Does The Counterfeit always persecute The Genuine?!! Is American Israel willing to fulfill its Destiny in dwelling alone?
What was God’s Judgment of “the rectitude of our” Forefathers’ “intentions”? Was it Divine Rescue after Divine Rescue of the Continental Army under General George Washington’s Command in the face of the Relentless Pursuit by the world’s greatest Army and Navy of Redcoats? Eight years of warfare and the Miracle of Cornwallis’ Surrender halted hostilities! All those miracles disappeared from Public Fool American History classes in the late 1950’s - early 1960’s! I have the right, or responsibility, to say so! I am a recovering Public Fool Graduate!
Our next documentary Evidence, for critical examination, is the 13 Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union! (did we read, above, Rev. Thomas Hooker’s sermon “The Sum of Church Discipline” where he said “Mutual covenanting and confederating of the saints in the fellowship of the faith according to the order of the Gospel, is that which gives constitution and being to a visible church...”? Does it also give constitution and being to a visible civil government?!!) Were our Fore-fathers double-minded or single-minded? Were they better men than we?
Article III reads:
“The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever.”
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, 1778.
Were they serious about “Perpetual Union”? According to Soule’s Dictionary of English Synonyms, one of the key synonyms for League is Confederation! Did our Forefathers have a precise set of synonyms from American English to express the Christian foundations for our civil Government when they framed The Republic? Did our Forefathers confederate in church, as well as in civil government?
Article XIII: “... And the Articles of this Confederation shall be inviolably observed by every state, and the Union shall be perpetual...”
Immediately following Article XIII, the next paragraph reads in pertinent parts:
“AND WHEREAS it hath pleased the Great Governor of the world to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union...”
Can there be any doubt about the 13 State Legislatures granting full power to their respective Congressional delegates to bind the 13 States to this form of government? And The Congress of delegates could only legislate on questions submitted to them under The Articles! If there are any questions about this Authority, now is the time to ask them.
Here is the next part of the “AND WHEREAS” paragraph. And this part is crucial:
“...we the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that purpose, do by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, and all and singular the matters therein contained...”
Did the Delegates, in Congress assembled, act under Authority delegated to them? Did they step outside their bounds? Or did they do the bidding of their State Legislatures? What is our Answer?
The Delegates, in Congress assembled, did something further. And this part is crucial! And was this Ratification and Confirmation also Unanimous?
“...and we do further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations of the United States in Congress assembled on all questions, which by the said Confederation are submitted to them.”
“We do further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents.” Who can tell me what that means? May I read to you from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer the closing of the Bridegroom’s sacred Vow of Marriage?
“... till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance, and thereto I plight thee my troth.”
This expression, “Thereto I plight thee my troth” is a deliberate insertion of the old Anglo-Saxon language to hearken back to how ancient this ceremony is. This language is translated on the next page where the Minister administering the exchange of the wedding vows pronounces the couple to be married.
“Forasmuch as N. and N. have consented together in holy wedlock...and thereto have given and pledged their troth either to other...”
“Thereto I plight thee my troth” translates directly into present English as “Thereto I pledge thee my truth”. A pledge, a promise, a vow! Going back on a pledge, breaking a promise, or forswearing a vow is not what we would want to come up before The Judgment Seat of Christ!!!
Did our Forefathers who framed the Republic return to “the blood of the everlasting covenant”? Did the delegates sent to Congress have the express Authority to pledge and engage the faith of their respective constituencies? (Exodus 24:11). Did the elders of Israel under the Old Covenant have the Authority to sit down to dinner with God at the Marriage Feast on Mount Sinai?
11 And upon the nobles of the child-
ren of Israel he laid not his hand: al-
so they saw God, and did eat and
drink.
Exodus chapter twenty-four.
(2 Chronicles 29:10). During times of revival was its common practice for Israel in repentance to renew the everlasting Covenant?
10 Now it is in my heart, to make a
covenant with the LORD God of Is-
rael, that his fierce wrath may turn
away from us.
Second Chronicles chapter twenty-nine.
“It is in my heart, to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel,” said Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 31:32). And Hezekiah set in order the order of worship in Israel according to the man of God, Moses.
32 And in every work that he began
in the service of the house of God,
and in the law, and in the command-
ments, to seek his God, he did it with
all his heart, and prospered.
Second Chronicles chapter thirty-one.
Second Chronicles chapter thirty-two recounts how Sennacherib, King of Assyria thought to besiege the fenced cities of Judah. The portion of his army that he sent to besiege Jerusalem mocked the God of Israel! Hezekiah and Isaiah, the son of Amoz, cried to heaven and the LORD slew all that army at the walls of Jerusalem overnight because the people were keeping Covenant, and obeyed King Hezekiah’s command to trust in the LORD God of Israel.
Did our Forefathers in American Israel likewise trust in the LORD God of their Fathers, when, during the Revolutionary War, King George magnified the 27 Atrocities listed in the Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen united States of America? Did our Forefathers frame the Republic upon “the heaven rescued land”?! Did our Forefathers during the Revolutionary War succeed in preserving their state governments?
If we had The 13 Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, why did our Forefathers need The Constitution? Was it because of the soldiers’ bleeding feet, wintering at Valley Forge? The State Legislatures vested no enforcement power in Congress to raise revenue for the Continental Army. They could legislate the collection of revenue but could not enforce it. The soldiers marched without boots!
Is there some marked connection between The Articles of Confederation and The Constitution for the United States of America? We do not have to search for long to find it. The Preamble to The Constitution has evidence. Is this what we call prima facie evidence?
“We the people of the United States of America, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The Preamble.
“In Order to form a more perfect Union.” Is this the 1st Purpose for The Constitution listed in The Preamble? Is this 1st Purpose a reference to The Perpetual Union in The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union? How could, or how did The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union have a less Perfect Union? Is PERFECT defined in the 1828 Webster as “complete”? If that is true, then, was the 1st purpose of The Constitution to make the Perpetual Union more complete?
George Washington earnestly promoted “the education of our youth in the science of government”. He said, “In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important?” Did we get that “education” in The Public Fool System?
Article I of The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union states:
“ARTICLE I. The style of this Confederacy shall be ‘The United States of America.’”
Did The Constitution follow this?! The Letters USA are upper Case. Does the upper Case mean the letters USA are capitalized? There are a number of things expressed in The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union that are retained in The Constitution! In the evolution of The Documents framing The Republic I discovered no unimportant step. I leave to the curious a comparison of the provisions of both Documents.
Do we find The Language of Covenant in The Constitution? Shall we look at the 3rd Paragraph of Article. VI.
“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution...”
Can anyone, under The Republic, serve in Government without being bound by Oath or Affirmation to The Covenant? The last time I was present at a discussion on a similar Question, the discussion resembled multiple rolls of the dice by every Partaker! For purpose(s) of this occasion, to avoid repetition of a dicey discussion, I added the phrase “under The Republic”!!!
How obvious is it to American Israel that we have many members of Federal and State governments, and registered voters, who are no party to “the blood of the everlasting covenant”?! Are the vast majority of American Israel victims of genetic ignorance? Are they “of Israel” but are not “Israel”? [Romans 9:6]
When did The Republic cease to function?
How many of us here are willing to take a fearless Inventory of ourselves?! Will we aim with our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ the Righteous to eliminate every ongoing Act of Covenantbreaking as The Holy Spirit reveals, the LORD assisting us?! [from Bradford’s History of the Plymouth Settlement, rendered into modern English by Harold Paget, 1909. Portland Oregon: American Heritage Ministries, Jan 1988, page 7]. (Isaiah 1:18). Do we already have The God of our Fathers’ invitation to do so?
18 Come now, and let us reason to-
gether, saith the LORD: though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be
white as snow; though they be red
like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isaiah chapter one.
If we vote within ourselves to return to “the blood of the everlasting covenant”, how much more effective would that be than the privilege of the public U.S. citizens to register and vote under a War Powers Emergency Congress, a War Powers Emergency Administration, and a War Powers Emergency Judiciary?
When did The Republic cease to function? How many State Legislatures (or State Conventions) does it take to adopt by ratification an Amendment to The Constitution? The Answer is in Article V: The Act of Congress sending 12 proposed amendments to The Constitution to the States for Ratification contains The Language of Covenant!
How that happened contributed to one of the most unique periods in the HIStory of Israel since God called Jacob, “Prince ruling with God”! All 13 States were unanimous in passing The Declaration of Independence, and The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. The Constitutional Convention unanimously approved The Constitution. The Conventions of all 13 States unanimously ratified The Constitution! But the Unanimous Ratification of The Constitution almost failed! The Stumbling stone was the lack of a bill of Rights!
On September 17th, 1787, the Constitutional Convention unanimously approved its own work and dutifully returned their work to Congress. Congress sent The Constitution to the 13 States without comment! Federal Law requires public schools to celebrate September 17th every year as Constitution Day with appropriate educational activities. It is one of the most violated federal laws in all American History.
The 1st State to have its convention of delegates to consider the Question and ratify The Constitution was Delaware December 7, 1787. Pennsylvania and New Jersey followed in the same month. Georgia and Connecticut followed in January 1788, Massachusetts in February, Maryland in April, South Carolina in May, and New Hampshire, June 21, 1788.
Paragraph 1 of Article VII of The Constitution provided the following:
Article VII: The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
New Hampshire was the 9th State to ratify. The Virginia and New York ratification conventions were hotbeds of debate. The Hot Sticking Point was the lack of a Bill of Rights.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2 The Language of Covenant
2 Chronicles 29:10
“It is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel.”
Brief Review:
Jeremiah 3:14 “I am married unto you.”
2 Corinthians 11:2 “I have espoused you to one husband.”
Exodus 24:3 “All the people answered with one voice.”
vv. 9-11 “They saw God and did eat and drink.”
Revelation 19:9 “The Marriage Supper of the Lamb”
Ephesians 6:11 “the wiles of the Devil”
2 Corinthians 2:10-11. The devices of Satan
Action of Second Continental Congress. July 4, 1776. “We mutually pledge to each other.”
End of Brief Review.
Op. cit. “The causes which impel them to the separation.”
Marshall and Manuel. The Light and the Glory. pp. 207-208. quoting from the Rev. Thomas Hooker’s Sermon, “The Sum of Church Discipline.” “According to the order of the Gospel.”
Article III. The Thirteen Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. 1778. “a firm league.”
Richard Soule. A Dictionary of English Synonyms. New York: Bantam Books, 1960. Key synonym for “Confederation”: “League.”
Article XIII. Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. “The Union shall be perpetual.”
“And Whereas Op. cit. “The Great Governor of the world.”
“And Whereas”. The crucial part. “By virtue of the power and authority given.”
“We do further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents.”
1662 Book of Common Prayer. “The Form of Solemnization of Matrimony,” and “the Pronouncement of Marriage.”
Exodus 24:11. “They saw God, and did eat and drink.”
2 Chronicles 29:10. “it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel.”
2 Chronicles 31:32. “he [Hezekiah] did it with all his heart and prospered.”
The Constitution for the United States of America. The Preamble.
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. Article I.
The Constitution for the United States of America. Article VI. “Bound by Oath or Affirmation.”
[Romans 9:6] “of Israel” but are not “Israel”. genetic ignorance.
[Bradford’s History of the Plymouth Settlement. rendered into modern English by Harold Paget, 1909. Portland, Oregon: American Heritage Ministries, 1988. page 7.] “The LORD assisting us.”
“When did the Republic cease to function?”
Isaiah 1:18. “let us reason together, saith the LORD”
