furnace and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the Lord made a Covenant

with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the

river Euphrates" (verse 17, 18). Here then we have the great unconditional Covenant, because made by only

ONE contracting party, and that one the Lord God Himself.

In this fact we have the simple explanation of that difficult verse (Gal. iii. 20), of which a University Professor

recently stated he had counted 430 interpretations! The apostle is speaking of two things, the Covenant, or

"Promise" made with Abraham, and the Covenant, or the "Law," made with Israel; and he says (verse 17)

that "the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the Law which was 430 years after, cannot

disannul that it should make the promi se of none effect." The Law was given he says "in the hand of the

mediator." That shows there were two contracting parties. But when there is only one covenanting party

there is no mediator; and when the Covenant was made with Abram there was only one, and that one God!

"Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one," i.e. when He gave Abram the promise. Hence the

covenant was unconditional, and cannot be disannulled by a conditional covenant made 430 years after by

Israel with God. "Wherefore then serveth the Law? It was added because of transgressions till the seed

should come to whom the promise was made" (verse 19). For the Covenant ran "Unto thy seed" (Gen. xv. 18)

"which is Christ" (Gal. iii. 16).

We all know, however, that Abraham never possessed the land. Then this covenant was ratified in Isaac

"Unto thee and unto thy seed" (Gen. xxvi. 3), but he possessed it not! for "Isaac gave up the ghost and

died.... and Jacob buried him" (Gen. xxxv. 29). And then it was ratified in Jacob "to thee will I give it and to

thy seed" (Gen. xxviii. 13), but he possessed it not, for "Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a

stranger" (Gen. xxxvii. 1), he died in Egypt (xlix. 33) and all the he possessed in the land was a burying place!

Nevertheless, the covenant is "sure." All blessing is based upon it, and referred to it. When God heard the

groaning of Israel in Egypt, it was because "God remembered His covenant" (Ex. ii. 24). When He came

down to deliver them, we read "I have established my Covenant with them" (Ex. vi. 4). When He would

comfort them, He says, "He will not forget the Covenant of thy fathers which He made with them" (Deut. iv.

31). When, again and again, He had compassion on them in their rebellion and foolishness, we read "he

remembered His holy promise and Abraham His servant" (Ps. cv. 42). "They remembered not ... they soon

forgat... they forgat God their Saviour... Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, when He heard their cry;

and He remembered for them His covenant" (Ps. cvi. 7, 13, 21, 44, 45). Hence David sings "He will ever be

mindful of His Covenant" (Ps. cxi. 5), and Jehovah declares "My Covenant will I not break, neither alter the

thing that is gone out of my lips" (Ps. lxxxix. 34).

But besides this Covenant with Abram to give him the Land, there was that other Covenant (also

unconditional) that was made with David, concerning the Throne (2 Sam. vii), which is also to be confirmed

and fulfilled only in David's seed. The promises of this Covenant are referred to in the exp ression "the sure

mercies of David."  12 "Sure" because they rest on God's faithfulness and holiness. See Ps. lxxxix. 28, "Once

have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David." It is interesting to note, that both these

unconditional Covenants are linked with the first to Noah, in one Scripture. Jeremiah xxxiii. "Thus saith the

Lord, If ye can break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be

day and night in their season; then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant... Then will I

cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over

the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return and have mercy upon them"

(verses 20, 21, 26). It is on the strength of this Everlasting Covenant made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

that Jesus based His proof of the Resurrection. For if the blessing and glory in the land was made to the

individual Patriarch as well as to the nation, saying "to thee and to thy seed" in the case of each Patriarch,

then there must be a Resurrection. The Patriarchs never had any possession in the land except "a

Sepulchre," for which they paid the Canaanites. Hence when the question about Resurrection was put to

Isa. lv. 3. Acts xiii. 34.