Gift of Self

A Reflection on the Psalm for February 14th, 2021:
First Sunday of Lent

---

​Psalm 25

R. Your paths, Lord, are love and faithfullness for those who keep your covenant.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. 

R. Your paths, Lord, are love and faithfullness for those who keep your covenant.

Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. According to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord! 

R. Your paths, Lord, are love and faithfullness for those who keep your covenant.

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 

R. Your paths, Lord, are love and faithfullness for those who keep your covenant.

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

“Your paths, Lord, are love and faithfulness for those who keep Your covenant.”

In a recent episode of The Bible in a Year podcast, Fr. Mike Schmitz taught about the difference between a contract and a covenant. Fr. Mike describes a contract as being an exchange of goods or services based on a condition. For example, “I’ll wash your car and you pay me $20.”
A covenant, on the other hand, is about relationships. It is a gift of self: “Do you Maxine, take Phil to be your husband? I do.” 

Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly reveals Himself as a covenantal God. There are four specific covenants found in the old testament books:
 
The Noahic Covenant:
This is a covenant God established with Noah after the flood in which He resets and renews the blessings of creation. (Genesis:9)

The Abrahamic Covenant:                                                                                                        
God promises Abraham a land, descendants, and blessing. This blessing promised to Abraham would extend through him to all the peoples of the earth. (Genesis:12, 15)

The Mosaic Covenant:                                                                                                               
This is the covenant God established with the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai after He led them out of Egyptian slavery. With it, God supplied the Law that was to govern and shape the people of Israel in the Promised Land. (Exodus:19, 24)

The Davidic Covenant:                                                                                                              
This is the covenant where God promised a descendant of David to reign on the throne over the people of God. (2 Samuel:7)

These covenants are a foreshadowing of the fifth covenant, the New and Eternal Covenant which is the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the night of His Last Supper, Jesus takes the cup and declares that His death would be the inauguration of this new covenant. (Luke 22:20)

So if our God is a God of covenants, and covenants are about relationships, then I believe it holds true that the God of our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the Father of our Lord Jesus, wants to be in relationship with us. Psalm 25 tells us how we can enter into this relationship with God and the blessings that flow out of it. Our God is a God of love and faithfulness and He wants us to receive that blessing simply through a relationship with Him.


Let’s pray: 
​Heavenly Father, Today I ask for a new beginning in my relationship with You. Show me the ways to surrender my heart to You and deepen my desire to know You even more. Teach me Your ways and lead me in Your truth. Amen

​


Maxine Brown

---