Adrian Rogers - The Blood Covenant
Well, we're coming into the Christmas season, and I'm beginning today a series of messages entitled, "God in Human Flesh". We're going to be talking about the Lord Jesus in the coming Sundays and today also. And today I want you to find an Old Testament passage of Scripture, First Samuel chapter 18, and in a moment we're going to be reading verse 3. The Lord Jesus came in the flesh to make for us a blood covenant, and what we're about to read here is the story of the blood covenant. And you need to understand the blood covenant because it has been my observations that most Christians talk better than they walk. They're not living in victory. They boast of victory, they sing of victory, but their lives are not victorious. A tiger met a lion as they sat beside a pool. Said the tiger to the lion, "Why are you roaring like a fool"? "That's not foolish," said the lion with a twinkle in his eye.
"They call me the king of all beasts because I advertise". A rabbit heard them talking, ran home like a streak. He thought he'd try the lion's plan, but his roar was just a squeak. A fox came to investigate, had his lunch in the woods. And so, my friend, when you advertise, be sure you've got the goods. Now, there are a lot of Christians who are advertising, but they have more in the showcase than they have in the warehouse. They don't have the goods, and their so-called roar is just the squeak of a little rabbit. How would you like to have the goods? How would you like to live up to what we profess and what we sing about? Well, if you want to do that, you need to learn what I'm going to call, "The Blood Covenant". First Samuel chapter 18 and verse 3; look at it, "Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he," that is, Jonathan, "loved him," that is, David, "as his own soul".
Now we're talking about God in human flesh. And God in human flesh came to make a blood covenant for you and for me. There're three things I want to lay upon your heart that I want you to do. First of all, I want you to understand the blood covenant as a biblical principle. Understand the blood covenant as a biblical principle. Now the Bible says that Jonathan and David made a covenant. The word covenant comes from a root word, which means to cut. And it literally has the idea of a blood covenant. And many of us have known about the blood covenant since we were kids; when we used to go to the movies and see the old westerns where the cowboy and the Indian would make a covenant.
Now the cowboys and Indians would be fighting. And then there came a time when the cowboy and the Indian chief would get together and they'd decide there'd be no more war, and so they're going to make a covenant. And what they would do, each one would make an incision on his right wrist until the blood would ooze out. The cowboy would cut himself, the Indian would cut himself, and then they would join their hands together and let the blood mingle and lift them to Heaven in a promise and a covenant, "There will be no more war. We are now," what? "Blood brothers". You understand that? Blood brothers. It was a co-mingling of lives that the Bible teaches that the life of the flesh is in the blood. And, now this blood covenant is something that the cowboys got from their forefathers and the Indians got from their forefathers. It goes all the way back to Bible times.
Now, many times after they would make a covenant, they would take something like black powder, sometimes gun powder, and rub it in the wound. And so, when the wound would heal, the scar would be very evident there. That scar would be called the mark of the covenant, and it'd be very evident that you could see it from there on. And then those who were in covenant were called friends. Now we use the friend, the word friend today very lightly, very loosely, but the word friend in the Bible was a very significant word. For example in the Bible, Abraham was in covenant with God. And what was Abraham called? "The friend of God". And there's a new attitude that comes for those who are in covenant one with another. That attitude in the Bible is called lovingkindness. Never forget it. Lovingkindness. You remember David said to God in Psalm 51 verse 1, "Lord, have mercy upon me according unto Thy lovingkindness".
Now what does lovingkindness mean? Lovingkindness means I will do you good, regardless, because we are in covenant together. You can call upon me as your friend, and I will show you lovingkindness, because we are now blood brothers. We have made together a blood covenant. And now this covenant not only is between the two who make the covenant, but it is also continues down to their offspring. The children of those in covenant are a part of the covenant, if they will ratify the covenant; it can be a part of them. Now I said what we need to do is to understand the blood covenant as a biblical principle. Let me tell you something. Listen very carefully. The blood covenant is the subject of the Bible. That's what the whole Bible is about, blood covenant. Our Bible is divided into two halves. What? The Old Testament and the New Testament.
Now, friend, listen. The word testament and the word covenant are the same word. It is the old covenant and the new covenant. That's what the whole Bible is about. It is the subject of the Bible. And not only is it the subject of the Bible, friend, it is the secret of blessing. All of the promises in the Bible are covenant promises. The Bible says in Psalm 25 verse 14, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant". When the Lord Jesus Christ met with His disciples for that last supper, He said in Luke 22 verse 20, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you". It's the blood covenant. This cup, when we come to the Lord's table, we are celebrating the blood covenant. "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you". It's the subject of the Bible. It, friend, is the secret of blessing.
Now, listen, it is the source of boldness. When you understand the blood covenant, when you understand who you are and what you have in the Lord Jesus Christ, from then on, no longer do you live under the tyranny of your emotions. No longer, friend, are you bound to your feelings. But now you can stand with boldness with the blood covenant. Now, there were some solemn symbols of the covenant. You're there; if you have your Bibles open to First Samuel chapter 18. We read a few verses. Let's read some more. "And it came to pass," I'm reading verses 1 through 4, "that when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David," now they have become soul mates, "and Jonathan loved him as his own soul".
The word soul literally means life. "And Saul took him," that is David, "took him that day, and would let him go no more to his father's house". That is, King Saul, who was Jonathan's father, said, "David, I want you to be my son also. You come to my house". And then notice in verse 3, "Then Jonathan and David made a covenant," we've already read that. That actually literally means cut a covenant, "because he," Jonathan, "loved him as his own soul". Now watch this, we're talking about the symbols of the covenant, "And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle".
Now you have to get the background. Saul is the king. Jonathan is the king's son. Therefore, Jonathan is the heir to the throne, very much like the crown prince of England. But Jonathan loves David. He admires David. David has come fresh from Bethlehem with a victory over Goliath. He has come fresh from the father. He has the oil, the fresh oil of anointing upon him. And Jonathan knows that David is God's anointed and appointed king. He knows that David is really the rightful heir to the throne, even though Jonathan is the king's son. And when Jonathan sees the beauty of David, he wants to yield his life over to David, and he makes a blood covenant with David and then he symbolizes it.
Now notice, first of all, he gave David his robe. Do you see that there in verse 4? That he gave David himself, he stripped himself of his robe? His robe is what marked Jonathan out as the king's son. It speaks of his position. And he is saying, "I am yielding my position over to you. I want David in my place". And that ought to be true of every follower of the Lord Jesus Christ with whom we are in blood covenant. That is, "Lord, I yield my position in life over to You". But not only did Jonathan give David his robe, he also gave him his garments; that is, his clothing. Now, the robe spoke of his position; his clothing spoke of his possessions. The Bible says in First Samuel chapter 18 and verse 4, "He stripped himself of his garments and gave those also to David," because what he's saying to David is, "David, I'm in covenant with you, and all that I have belongs to you, because if it were not for you, I really wouldn't have anything. You won the victory for me".
What he was saying is, "David paid it all, and all to him I owe," just like we sing, "Jesus paid it all, and all to Him I owe". But not only did he give his robe, which speaks of his position, and not only did he give his garments, which spoke of his possession, he gave his sword and his bow. Look at it again in verse 4, "To his sword and his bow and his girdle". His girdle is what he hung his weapons on. Now when he gave his sword and his bow to David, what he is saying, "This represents my power, my power. I know how to use this bow, but I have no longer any right to self-defense. I yield that over to you. And David, your battles are my battles. My weapons of war now belong to you. My position is yours! My possessions are yours! My power is yours! I give it over to you! We are now blood brothers"!
That's what the covenant meant. And now they are in covenant because covenant and commitment, listen, covenant and commitment go hand-in-hand. Now what we're talking about now is the biblical principle of a blood covenant. Let's move to the second point. You ready? All right, now listen. I want you to not only understand that principle, but I want you to see how the blood covenant is a steadfast promise, emphasis on the word steadfast, steadfast. That is, when you're in covenant, that is an unbreakable covenant. Now let me tell you what has happened. At first, Saul loved David, but then when David received so much praise, Saul became insane with jealousy, and now Saul the king wants to kill David. And so there goes out a royal edict that David is to be killed.
Now Jonathan hears about that and Jonathan tells David, he said, "David, you hide yourself. My father wants to kill you". Just go to the nineteenth chapter of First Samuel and look if you will in verses 1 and 2, "Then Saul spake to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David; and Jonathan told David, saying, 'Saul, my father, seeketh to kill thee; now, therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself.'" Now remember now, that Jonathan is in a closer relationship to David than he is to his own natural father; just as we in Christ are closer many times to our brothers and sisters in Christ than we are to those who are natural members of our family.
And so Jonathan says, "David, my father wants to kill you. Hide yourself". And if you read that story now, David is hunted like a wild partridge on the hills of Judea. And Saul is out there and all of the emphasis of the kingdom is put to a narrow focus: find David, kill David; find David, kill David; find David, kill David. And David now is fleeing for his life. But there's a battle, and Saul and Jonathan are both slain; and David, who is God's anointed and appointed king, comes to the kingdom. He is now appointed king. When this happens, there is blind panic in the kingdom. Can you imagine? Up until this point, everybody is saying, "Find David, kill David, kill David, kill David".
And now David is the king. And they're wondering, when now is the retaliation about to begin? When is the retribution about to begin? When is David going to take vengeance on his enemies? Now, in the change of kingdoms there's panic, I say, in the royal household. And there's a nurse there who sees Jonathan's son. Now remember that David has made a covenant with Jonathan. This nurse in the royal nursery chamber sees this little baby boy there. His name, a strange name; I've never heard a child named this name, Mephibosheth. Hard to say, even, Mephibosheth. That's the name of this little baby. Now remember this little baby is in the nursery. He is Jonathan's son, and Jonathan and David are in blood covenant together, but now Jonathan is dead and David is the king. This nurse, all she knows is that there's another king. He's going to come and he's going to take vengeance.
So she takes the little baby out of the crib and begins to run to hide the baby. Now she's a very heavy woman. She trips and falls and her body falls on this little baby. And the little baby's legs get twisted beneath the weight, and he is crippled. There's no orthopedic surgeon there to set the little limbs and make them straight. And so she runs with this child, now crippled, but she wants to hide him from David and from the vengeance that David would have, and she goes out to a place, the name of that place is Lodebar, L-O-D-E-B-A-R, which literally means, "A place of no pasture". You can use your imagination. It was a dry, dusty, dingy hideaway on the backside of nowhere, because she's trying to hide this little baby. And this baby grows up crippled. "Why am I here, Nurse"? "You're here because there's somebody trying to kill you". "Why am I crippled"? "Because we were running from him". "What's going to happen"? "You just better hope he never finds you".
And there he is growing up with this lesson: fear David, hate David; fear David, hate David. And there he is dragging his crippled limbs behind him, eating dust, breathing dust, drinking from a tin cup, a prince in exile. And now David is the king. And then David says something extremely interesting. David knows that he must fulfill the covenant that he has made with Jonathan. So, look if you will now in Second Samuel this time. Just fast forward to Second Samuel chapter 9 verses 1 through 3, and notice these amazing words. Now David is now the king. Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, is in exile. "And David said," I'm reading Second Samuel chapter 9 verse 1, "And David said, 'Is there any yet that is left of the house of Saul,'" now here's the key word, watch it, "'that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?' And there was of the house of Saul a servant, whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, 'Art thou Ziba?' And he said, 'Thy servant is he.' And the king said, 'Is there not yet any of the house of Saul?'"
About this time they were thinking, "Uh, huh, here it comes; I was wondering when the purge would begin". "'Is there not any left of the house of Saul,'" but now listen to this, "'that I may show the kindness of God unto him?' And Ziba said unto the king, 'Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.'" Now David wants to show kindness, the kindness of God, to Mephibosheth. He'd never met him before, but he is in covenant with Mephibosheth's father, Jonathan. And so David says, "Go fetch him. Go bring him". And so they send a royal entourage, the king's horses, the king's men, out to Lodebar.
I can see Mephibosheth as he drags his crippled limbs to the window and he looks out. There are the king's men. There are the king's horses. There it all is. And he says, "Oh! He's found me"! They come push open the door. "Are you Mephibosheth"? "Yes". "Come". "Why"? "The king wants you". He says, "This is it. I've had it". He's brought before King David. He casts his crutches aside. He falls on his face, and he begins to tremble like a bird in a trap, caught. There he is on the floor, and David says to him, with a note of love in his voice, look if you will in Second Samuel 9 verse 7, "And David said unto him, 'Fear not; fear not; for I will surely show thee kindness,'" now watch this, "'for Jonathan thy father's sake, and I will restore unto thee all the land of Saul, thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.'"
Here's what he said to this man who's expecting death, "I want to restore your inheritance. I want you to dine at my table. I want you to be like my son". When Mephibosheth hears this, he can hardly take it in. He can't understand it. Look in Second Samuel 9 verse 8, "And he bowed himself, and said, 'What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I?'" "I'm a dead dog. I'm as good as death. Why would you want to give me back my inheritance? Why would you want me to eat at your table? Why would you want me to be as your son"? I can imagine David explaining it and saying to him, "Now Mephibosheth, I want you to understand, it's not a matter of your worthiness. As a matter of fact, I'm not even doing this for your sake. I'm doing this for the sake of your father, Jonathan. I am in a blood covenant with Jonathan. I am bound by a blood covenant".
Now at this moment, Mephibosheth has a decision to make. He, up until this point, had seen David as an enemy, and as a threat. And he's been running from him. Now he has a decision to make. If he wants to, he can ratify the covenant. No longer is David an enemy; now David is a friend. No longer is he out of fellowship with David; he's in fellowship with David. No longer is he running from David, he is running to David. He must change his mind about David, and he must accept the covenant by faith. Now notice. He must change his mind about David and he must accept the covenant by faith. Do you know what that is? It's the terms of salvation in the New Testament: repentance and faith. Repentance means a change of mind. When we change our mind, we take a new king into our lives, and His name is Jesus.
Now, of course, Mephibosheth ratified the covenant, something he had to learn about. Once he ratified the covenant, there is a transformation that takes place. I want you to see the transformation. Look if you will in Second Samuel chapter 9 beginning in verse 9 and then verse 10, "Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, 'I have given unto thy master's son,'" that is, to Mephibosheth, "'all that pertaineth to Saul and to all his house,'" that is, "I'm giving him all of the wealth that his grandfather king had". "'Thou, therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him,'" just take care of all of this land that belongs to him now, "'and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat; but Mephibosheth, thy master's son, shall eat bread alway at my table.' Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants".
Can you imagine the transformation? See what a day brought forth. Yesterday he was living in Lodebar, dry and dusty on the backside of nowhere, dragging his crippled limbs behind him, eating and breathing dust, and now, this morning, he awakens on silken sheets. He's in the palace. He has servants who are coming, saying to him, "Would Mephibosheth like to awaken this morning? Is my lord Mephibosheth ready for his bath this morning? What would my lord Mephibosheth like for breakfast this morning? The king and his sons are waiting for you to breakfast. You're coming to breakfast in the palace". Mephibosheth can hardly take it in. There he is, now in the palace, now a king's son. He comes down to breakfast and there's the king. He's sitting on the right hand of the king. There are the king's sons. There's that table groaning with food. There's that white linen tablecloth, and his limbs are under the tablecloth, can't even be seen at all. He's sitting there with the rest of them.
Mephibosheth is thinking, "I can't understand this. I don't deserve this. Yet, it's because of a blood covenant. It is a covenant that my father made with David. I can't completely understand it, but I can't deny it. Here I am. Pass the biscuits"! And as David passes the bread to Mephibosheth, there's a scar on David's wrist. The mark of the covenant. And it dawns on him: the power of a blood covenant. What a transformation takes place. The next time, dear friend, we have the Lord's Supper, you'll understand what Jesus said in Luke chapter 22 and verse 20, "Likewise, also the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.'"
Now here's the third and final thing I want to lay upon your heart, what I want you to do. I want you this Christmas season to understand the saving power of the blood covenant. God was made flesh that there might be a blood covenant with you. The Savior is pictured. 2000 years ago, Jesus entered into a blood covenant with God the Father for the sons and daughters of Adam. On the cross, a blood covenant was made. You say, "Who was on that cross"? God and man. God and man. The blood of God and the blood of man were mingled on the cross. You say, "But God doesn't have blood". He did when Jesus was on this Earth.
Acts chapter 20 and verse 28, Paul told the Ephesian elders, "Feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood," with God's own blood. The blood that coursed through that infant in Mary's womb was the blood of God, because He's the virgin-born Son of God, and we're going to talk about that next week. But Jesus was man also. He called Himself, "The Son of Man". He was a human, as fully human as if He were not God at all; as fully God as if He were not human at all. And on that cross, when that blood flowed, there was a covenant being made between God and man. The blood of God and the blood of a human were mingled there upon that cross. The Savior is pictured here in this story. But not only is the Savior pictured, the sinner is pictured.
Mephibosheth, friend, pictures you. He pictures Adrian. Think of him. He was deformed. How was he deformed? He was crippled by a fall. We're all crippled by the fall. When Adam fell, we fell with him. Mephibosheth was so crippled that he could not come. He had to be found. He had to be sought. He had to be brought. He had to be taught. So with all of us. Friend, thank God that God sought us, just as David sought Mephibosheth. He was deformed. He was dethroned. He was heir to a kingdom, but he'd lost his kingdom. God created man to rule and to reign here upon this earth. We were meant to rule, but we lost our inheritance. Not only was he deformed, not only was he dethroned, but he was dead. He was as good as dead. The sentence of death was upon him, for he said, "Why should you look upon such a dead dog as I am"?
Listen to me, my precious friend, without Jesus you are a dead dog! Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death". Ephesians 18:20, "The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die". Mephibosheth, deformed, dethroned, dead, and deceived. Why was he deceived? Well, he feared David. He hated David. He thought David was his enemy when David was really his friend. Why? Because he was in ignorance. He didn't understand the blood covenant. I was on an airplane one time. I sat down beside a man. He got on with a cupful of alcoholic beverage. I don't know why they let him on the plane with it. I could tell he was a little loud, a little belligerent, so I just thought I'd be quiet and wait for my moment.
I was reading a book by Vance Havner called Repent or Else. After a while he started the conversation. He said, "Is that a true book"? I said, "What do you mean a true book"? He said, "What is that about, Repent or Else"? I said, "Well, it's a book about God. It tells us if we don't repent of our sin, we're going to die and go to Hell". He said, "God? God? Mister," and he lifted his voice. He said, "Let me tell you what I think about God". He said, "Let me tell you what I think about the devil, and let me tell you what I think about everybody else". And by this time, everybody in the plane was looking at the two of us. And he says, "God," said, "I hate Him". He said, "The devil, I don't care for him," and he said, "I don't care for anybody else". He said, "There's my god right there," and he held up that cup of whiskey. "That's my god".
And he said, "As far as He is concerned," talking about God, "He can go to," and I'm not going to finish the sentence because the children are here. And he said, "As far as the devil is concerned, he can go to the same place". And he said, "As far as all these people are concerned, they can go to the same place". And he said, "I'm going to drink this till I die, and that's where I'm going". I just thought I better be quiet for a while. I waited till he settled down. His name was Montoya. And I said, "You don't hate God". He said, "Yes, I do". I said, "No, you don't". He said, "How do you know I don't hate God"? I said, "You don't know enough about Him to hate Him".
See, what had happened to this man, he told me, his wife had gotten into a false cult. The members of that false cult had told him because he was not a member of that false cult that she should leave him and take the children also. And that was the God, the caricature of the God that he knew, which wasn't the God of the Bible at all. I just said, "Mister, you don't hate God. You hate your idea of God. Let me draw a picture of you". And I got a yellow pad and began to doodle and made some circles and talked about body, soul, and spirit, and then I talked about how Jesus died, and so forth. Before we got off that plane, he'd prayed and asked Christ into his heart. We got off in the Phoenix airport. He found me and put a bear hug on me and said, "Mister, I love you. I love you," because he'd found Christ, found the Savior. I thought so much of the story of Mephibosheth.
Here was a man; thought he hated God. He thought God was his enemy. And there're people like this who come to church and they listen to a preacher preach and they find themselves running from God and fearing God and afraid of God. God is love. God loves you. And God has made with His Son, the Lord Jesus, a blood covenant on your behalf. Now let me show you one other thing. Salvation is also pictured, and I've got to hurry. Now notice what our salvation is. What do we have? Well, remember friend, that our salvation is because of what Jesus did. Remember what David said in Second Samuel 9 verse 1? "Is there any left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness," now listen to this, "for Jonathan's sake"? Remember that? "That I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake".
What does Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 tell us? "Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another," now listen, "even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you". See? Are you getting it now? "Even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you". You're not worthy! I'm not worthy! We're dead dogs! We're deformed! We're under the sentence of death! We're fearing God and hating God! But God is in a covenant with His Son, the Lord Jesus, and God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven us. It's not a matter of our worthiness. And notice what Mephibosheth had now. He had the king's forgiveness. Rather than judgment, he has a fortune restored. He had the king's fellowship.
If you were to read Second Samuel 9, four times he says, "I want you to sit at my table, Mephibosheth". Remember that every time we come to the Lord's table. Remember that we don't come to mourn a corpse; we come to fellowship with a friend. We come to the Lord's table. To eat with a person is the most intimate fellowship that human beings can have. And, he said here in Second Samuel 9:7 that, "He shall eat at my table continually," as one of the king's sons, continual and intimate. We have the king's fortune. He says, "Restore to him everything of his rightful inheritance".
Ladies and gentlemen, because of the blood covenant, the meek shall inherit the earth. God gave it to Adam. Adam lost it. Jesus has restored it! We're heirs of God and joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only do we have the king's forgiveness, not only do we have the king's fortune, not only do we have the king's fellowship, but, friend, we're in the king's family. David said, "Mephibosheth, I want you to be like one of my sons". First John 3 verse 1, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God". Now look at me. Now, I must make an application and close. Do you know what the devil will tell you sometime? The devil will tell you, "You are not worthy". Don't argue with him. You'll lose the argument. You're not worthy. Point him to the blood covenant and back out of the argument. Let him take up his argument with Almighty God and the blood covenant.
You say, "Well, I don't feel it". It's not a matter of your feelings; it's a matter of the blood covenant. "Well," you say, "sometimes I fail". We all do. Come with the blood covenant and remind God of His lovingkindness. Psalm 51 verse 1, "Have mercy upon me according unto Thy lovingkindness". Friend, when you're in the blood covenant, enjoy the fellowship of His person. Share the wealth of His possessions. And rest in the shadow of His protection. Aren't you glad for the blood covenant? Aren't you glad? Why Christmas? Why Christmas? Because, friend, Jesus came to earth to shed His blood to make a blood covenant that we might enjoy what we have with our Lord.
Would you bow your heads in prayer? Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. And while heads are bowed and eyes are closed, remember Mephibosheth? When he was faced with the love of God, he had to believe and ratify the covenant. He had to take David as his king now. There's a change of kings. He had to yield to David. Are you willing to yield to Jesus? That's called repentance and faith. Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what saves. Turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus. Do it now. Let me lead you in prayer. Would you pray this prayer?
Dear God, I am a sinner and I'm lost and I need to be saved. Father God, I am so grateful that Jesus shed His blood for me. And I know, God, that You will forgive me for Jesus' sake. Because of His shed blood and because of the covenant made at Calvary. Now, Lord Jesus, just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, oh Lamb of God, I come to Thee. I come. I do. Amen.