Hebrews 8:7-13: a reflection

7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days are coming”, says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; 9not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they didn’t continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them,” says the Lord. 10“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says the Lord: “I will put my laws into their mind; I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11They will not teach every man his fellow citizen and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from their least to their greatest. 12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.” 13In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first obsolete. But that which is becoming obsolete and grows aged is near to vanishing away.

The writer of Hebrews sets out the promises of the new covenant God made in Christ, and the last of them is the sweetest: God will remember his people's sins no more. This is the covenant that I will make, God says: I will put my laws into their mind, and write them on their heart; I will be their God, and they will be my people; and I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and I will remember their sins no more. The new covenant carries these promises: God's law written not on stone but on the heart, an inward knowing of God shared by all his people from least to greatest, and, at the last, full and free forgiveness, God remembering their sins no more. This is the covenant God has made with his people in Christ. This shows the promises of the new covenant, above all that God remembers our sins no more. In the new covenant, God writes his law on our hearts and remembers our sins no more. God promises full forgiveness, remembering our sins no more. The new covenant is inward, personal, and full of grace. Rest in the promise that God remembers your sins no more.

Notice the promises of this new covenant. First, God will put his law into the mind and write it on the heart: no longer merely external commands on stone, but an inward transformation, God's law written within. Second, all God's people, from the least to the greatest, will know him: an inward, personal knowing of God, shared by all his people, not confined to a few. And third, at the last and sweetest: God will be merciful to their unrighteousness and remember their sins no more, full and free forgiveness, sins not merely covered but remembered no more. This is the covenant God has made with his people in Christ, whose blood secured it. And these promises are the ground of the Christian's hope and peace. Our standing with God does not rest on our own law-keeping, but on the new covenant God has made: his law written on our hearts, an inward knowing of him, and, above all, our sins forgiven and remembered no more. This last promise is a deep comfort: that God, in Christ, forgives our sins fully and remembers them no more, no longer holding them against us. We do well to rest in these promises of the new covenant, above all in the promise that God remembers our sins no more, and to live in the peace and gratitude they give. Rest in the new covenant's promises, above all that God remembers your sins no more. God writes his law on your heart and forgives your sins fully. Your standing with God rests on his covenant, not your law-keeping. Live in the peace of knowing God remembers your sins no more.

That is worth resting in, for in the new covenant God writes his law on our hearts, gives us to know him, and, above all, remembers our sins no more, and we can live in the peace these promises give, as Hebrews sets them out. Our standing with God can seem to rest on our own law-keeping; but the new covenant rests on God's promises: his law within, an inward knowing of him, and our sins forgiven and remembered no more. Rest in this grace. Do not ground your peace on your own law-keeping; rest in the new covenant's promises, above all that God, in Christ, forgives your sins and remembers them no more. Rest in the promises of the new covenant God has made in Christ, above all that he remembers your sins no more, as the writer of Hebrews sets out these promises, that God will put his laws into the mind and write them on the heart, be the God of his people who will all know him from least to greatest, and be merciful to their unrighteousness and remember their sins no more; for the new covenant carries God's law written not on stone but on the heart, an inward knowing of God shared by all his people, and at the last full and free forgiveness, God remembering their sins no more, which is the covenant God has made with his people in Christ whose blood secured it, so that these promises are the ground of the Christian's hope and peace, since our standing with God does not rest on our own law-keeping but on the new covenant God has made, his law written on our hearts, an inward knowing of him, and above all our sins forgiven and remembered no more, this last promise being a deep comfort, that God in Christ forgives our sins fully and remembers them no more, no longer holding them against us, so that we do well to rest in these promises, above all in the promise that God remembers our sins no more, and to live in the peace and gratitude they give.

Lord, the writer of Hebrews sets out the promises of the new covenant you made in Christ, and the last of them is the sweetest: you will remember your people's sins no more. This is the covenant that I will make, you say: I will put my laws into their mind, and write them on their heart; I will be their God, and they will be my people; and I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and I will remember their sins no more. The new covenant carries these promises: your law written not on stone but on the heart, an inward knowing of you shared by all your people from least to greatest, and, at the last, full and free forgiveness, you remembering their sins no more. This is the covenant you have made with your people in Christ. Show me the promises of this new covenant. First, you will put your law into the mind and write it on the heart: no longer merely external commands on stone, but an inward transformation. Second, all your people, from the least to the greatest, will know you: an inward, personal knowing of you, shared by all. And third, at the last and sweetest: you will be merciful to their unrighteousness and remember their sins no more, full and free forgiveness, sins not merely covered but remembered no more. This is the covenant you have made with your people in Christ, whose blood secured it. These promises are the ground of my hope and peace. My standing with you does not rest on my own law-keeping, but on the new covenant you have made: your law written on my heart, an inward knowing of you, and, above all, my sins forgiven and remembered no more. This last promise is a deep comfort: that you, in Christ, forgive my sins fully and remember them no more, no longer holding them against me. Take that to my heart. Keep me from grounding my peace on my own law-keeping; help me rest in the new covenant's promises, Lord, above all in the promise that you remember my sins no more, and live in the peace and gratitude they give, knowing you no longer hold my sins against me.