WAS THE LAW OF GOD ABOLISHED BY THE NEW COVENANT?
By S. B. Whitney
Some suppose that it was; but that this is not the case is a point than which few are made plainer in the Scriptures. God says by Isaiah, “Hearken unto me ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law.” Isa. 51: 7. But how does his law get into their hearts? Hear Paul, in Heb. 8: 10, quoting from Jeremiah, in relation to the new covenant (chap. 31: 33): “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts,” &c. But you will further observe in the quotations from Isaiah that those in whose hearts God’s law is, are the ones that know righteousness. This would seem to indicate that God’s law and righteousness are the same, and this is confirmed by David in Ps. 119: 172: “My tongue shall speak of thy word, for all thy commandments are righteousness.” We are thus shown that God’s law is put into the hearts of his people under the new covenant, and that his law is his righteousness. Now turn again to Isa. 51, and you will see how plainly God has spoken on the point we are considering. In verse 6, after predicting some of the fearful scenes of the last days, he says, “But my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.” Again in verse 8, “But my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.” This needs no comment, and certainly settles the question.