Isaiah 59 ends with Yahweh’s pledge of covenant faithfulness (v. 21). “This is my covenant with them.” What is that covenant?
Two things: Spirit and words. Yahweh’s Spirit is “upon you” (cf. Isaiah 11:2; 42:1) His words are “in your mouth.”
Spirit and words are given forever: “they shall not depart . . . from now to forever.”
Spirit and words are transmitted from generation to generation: They shall not depart “from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed’s seed.”
A Christian reading of this passage can hardly miss the Trinitarian overtones. This is the covenant of God, that He gives His Spirit and His eternal Word to His people from generation to generation, and that by giving His Spirit and Word, He places His words, like a burning coal, in the mouth of His people.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
