The Ordinance of Covenanting — A Closer Reading

Defining the Ordinance

Cunningham devotes the first chapter to establishing the nature of covenanting. He argues that redeemed sinners are in covenant with God, a relation that is not a mere law but has parties and conditions. The term 'covenanting' is defined as the act by which men make a covenant with God, though he clarifies this is not distinct from the covenant of redemption or grace. A key nuance: the formal exercise of covenanting is not indispensable to an interest in the covenant, yet it may be the means by which one first enters it or renews it. The chapter then dissects the vow, oath, and confession as components. For the oath, he specifies that it is sworn with the lifting up of the right hand, a devotional exercise implying condensed adoration. The civil use of the oath depends on its spiritual character—a claim that ties legal practice to theology.

Personal and Social Dimensions

Personal covenanting is described as an act of adherence to God's covenant, involving approval of salvation through Christ, acceptance of Christ and his benefits, renunciation of Satan and sin, and self-dedication to God. Cunningham emphasizes that duty is promised to God in this act. Social covenanting extends this to the church in an ecclesiastical capacity and to nations. It implies all that is included in personal covenanting but adds federal engagement among members, public acceptance of truth, and renunciation of error. The author insists that social covenanting is performed in the name of those who engage, suggesting a representative dimension. Notably, he distinguishes between the church and the nation as covenanting bodies, each with its own scope.

Biblical Precedents and Representation

Cunningham draws heavily on Old Testament narratives to illustrate covenanting. He cites the covenant at Bethel, where Jacob's encounter is interpreted as representative: 'He found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us.' Peter's words to Israel are quoted to show that the covenant with Abraham included future generations. The Red Sea song is presented as an expression of transmitted obligation: 'The Lord is my strength and song... my father's God.' The most extended example is the Abrahamic covenant ratification, where a smoking furnace and burning lamp pass between the pieces. Cunningham interprets the furnace as symbolizing Israel's future affliction in Egypt, and the lamp as God's gracious presence. He argues that the covenant was made with Abraham's seed, not yet born, yet they were taken into covenant with him.

The Perpetuity of Covenant Obligation

A central claim is that God views the church as bound by covenant engagements made in earlier periods. Cunningham cites the command to Abraham: 'Thou shalt keep my covenant, therefore, thou and thy seed after thee.' He then broadens this to all generations, quoting Psalm 111: 'He hath commanded his covenant for ever.' The implication is that covenant duties are not limited to the original parties but extend to their descendants. This principle undergirds the entire treatise, linking historical covenants to present obligation. Readers should watch how Cunningham applies this to later chapters on national and ecclesiastical covenanting, as the logic of representation recurs throughout.

This work rewards readers who attend to its scriptural architecture. Cunningham rarely makes an assertion without multiple proof texts, and his definitions are cumulative. The early chapters on vow, oath, and confession provide the vocabulary for the later discussions of personal and social covenanting. Readers unfamiliar with Reformed covenant theology may find the density of citation challenging, but the structure is logical: each section builds on the previous. The index and table of contents are reliable guides for locating specific topics.

There are moments in Cunningham's patient unfolding of covenant vows that feel almost like a held breath—the weight of a promise, spoken aloud. It reminded me of an old, quieter conversation I once had with A Few Remarks on the Scripture History of Saul and the Witch of Endor — Reading Notes, where the solemnity of a single encounter lingers long after the page is turned. Strange, how both books whisper about binding words.