THE Lord never asked any person or any people to promise in their own strength to keep His law. He never asks any one to do what he can not do. Whatever He commands any one to do, the command implies that He will supply the power to do it. No one has the power to do the will of the Most High God unless the power to do that will be imparted by the omnipotent One Himself. This principle was fully established in the declaration of Christ, the only-begotten Son of the all-powerful God, when He declared, “The Son can do nothing of Himself.” John 5:19. “I can of Myself do nothing.” Verse 30. Now if Christ Himself, when in the weakness of sinful flesh, could not of Himself do the Father’s will, how can any one else do it? Therefore an unconditional promise to do so is sheer presumption, virtually assuming to do right without God’s help. This was Israel’s great mistake at Sinai, when that “old” covenant was made. God gave them a precious promise, designed for their encouragement at that critical moment; but He placed it on a reciprocal basis; a condition that they should do His will, which is to obey His law. The promise was predicated on what He had already done for them, the great acts which they had witnessed and experienced during the few months just preceding. He said: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagle’s wings, and brought you unto Myself.” Ex. 19:4. With the assurance of this experience fresh in their minds, He gave the conditional promise: “Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Verses 5, 6. The Lord did not ask the people to make any promise at all; for He knew their promise would not amount to anything, as was shown a short time afterward, when they worshiped the golden calf. They did not even know what God’s will was until three days afterward, when He spoke it from Mount Sinai. So they assumed the ability and righteousness to do in their own strength whatever the Lord would require. Without any acknowledgment of dependence on the Lord for strength and wisdom to do His will, “all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” Then, after they had been informed of the Lord’s will, they again promised unconditionally to do all that He had said, and be obedient. It is no wonder the covenant so soon became “old” and worthless, when its support was weakened by the injection of the promises of such a wavering, unstable people. But their unconditional promise was just as good as that of any other people; and promises made in the same spirit to-day are no better than those made by a faithless people at Sinai. How much better was the spirit of David, who, realizing his own weakness, based his promises on help from the Lord. His prayer was: “Give me understanding, and I shall keep Thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto Thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.” Ps. 119: 34-36. So also Solomon, in the prayer at the dedication of the temple, besought the continued presence of God, “that He may incline our hearts unto Him, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and His statutes, and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.” As our Saviour, when on earth, acknowledged that He could do nothing of Himself, so He said to His disciples, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” This is not for our discouragement, however; for the Apostle Paul, who had much experience in the things of God, gives this assurance, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Phil. 4:13. Only in the faith of Jesus is the power to do the will of God. But, praise His name, “we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.” Rom. 5:2.