And I will makean everlastingcovenantwith them, that I will not turn awayfrom them,to do them good… – Jeremiah 32:40

The first covenant was conditioned upon the obedience of men. If they kept the law, God would bless them; but they failed through disobedience and inherited the curse. The divine sovereignty determined to deal with men, not according to merit, but according to mercy; not according to the personal character of men, but according to the personal character of God; not according to what men might do, but according to what the Lord Jesus would perform. Sovereign grace declares that He will have mercy upon whom He will have mercy and will have compassion on whom He will have compassion. This basis of sovereignty cannot be shaken. The covenant which saves men according to God’s will and good pleasure, is founded upon a rock; for God’s free grace is always the…