The Greek word διαθήκη occurs often in the Septuagint, as the translation of a Hebrew word, which signifies _covenant_: it occurs also in the Gospels and the Epistles; and it is rendered in our English Bibles sometimes _covenant_, sometimes _testament_. The Greek word, according to its etymology, and according to classical use, may denote a testament, a disposition, as well as a covenant; and the Gospel may be called a testament, because it is a signification of the will of our Saviour ratified by his death, and because it conveys blessings to be enjoyed after his death. These reasons for giving the dispensation of the Gospel the name of a testament appeared to our translators so striking, that they have rendered διαθήκη more frequently by the word _testament_, than by the word _covenant_. Yet the train of argument, where διαθήκη occurs, generally appears to proceed upon its meaning a covenant; and therefore, although, when we delineate the nature of the Gospel, the beautiful idea of its being a testament, is not to be lost sight of, yet we are to remember that the word _testament_, which we read in the Gospels and Epistles, is the translation of a word which the sense requires to be rendered _covenant_. A covenant implies two parties, and mutual stipulations. The new covenant must derive its name from something in the nature of the stipulations between the parties different from that which existed before; so that we cannot understand the propriety of the name, _new_, without looking back to what is called the _old_, or _first_. On examining the passages in Gal. iii, in 2 Cor. iii, and in Heb. viii-x, where the old and the new covenant are contrasted, it will be found that the old covenant means the dispensation given by Moses to the children of ...Israel; and the new covenant the dispensation of the Gospel published by Jesus Christ; and that the object of the Apostle is to illustrate the superior excellence of the latter dispensation. But, in order to preserve the consistency of the Apostle’s writings, it is necessary to remember that there are two different lights in which the former dispensation may be viewed. Christians appear to draw the line between the old and the new covenant, according to the light in which they view that dispensation. It may be considered merely as a method of publishing the moral law to a particular nation; and then with whatever solemnity it was delivered, and with whatever cordiality it was accepted, it is not a covenant that could give life. For, being nothing more than what divines call a covenant of works, a directory of conduct requiring by its nature entire personal obedience, promising life to those who yielded that obedience, but making no provision for transgressors, it left under a curse “every one that continued not in all things that were written in the book of the law to do them.” This is the essential imperfection of what is called the covenant of works, the name given in theology to that transaction, in which it is conceived that the supreme Lord of the universe promised to his creature, man, that he would reward that obedience to his law, which, without any such promise, was due to him as the Creator. No sooner had Adam broken the covenant of works, than a promise of a final deliverance from the evils incurred by the breach of it was given. This promise was the foundation of that transaction which Almighty God, in treating with Abraham, condescends to call “my covenant with thee,” and which, upon this authority, has received in theology the name of the Abrahamic covenant. Upon the one part, Abraham, whose faith was counted to him for righteousness, received this charge from God, “Walk before me and be thou perfect;” upon the other part, the God whom he believed, and whose voice he obeyed, beside promising other blessings to him and his seed, uttered these significant words, “In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” In this transaction, then, there was the essence of a covenant; for there were mutual stipulations between two parties; and there was superadded, as a seal of the covenant, the rite of circumcision, which, being prescribed by God, was a confirmation of his promise to all who complied with it, and being submitted to by Abraham, was, on his part, an acceptance of the covenant. The Abrahamic covenant appears, from the nature of the stipulations, to be more than a covenant of works; and, as it was not confined to Abraham, but extended to his seed, it could not be disannulled by any subsequent transactions, which fell short of a fulfilment of the blessing promised. The law of Moses, which was given to the seed of Abraham four hundred and thirty years after, did not come up to the terms of that covenant even with regard to them, for, in its form it was a covenant of works, and to other nations it did not directly convey any blessing. But although the Mosaic dispensation did not fulfil the Abrahamic covenant, it was so far from setting that covenant aside, that it cherished the expectation of its being fulfilled: for it continued the rite of circumcision, which was the seal of the covenant; and in those ceremonies which it enjoined, there was a shadow, a type, an obscure representation, of the promised blessing, Luke i, 72, 73. Here, then, is another view of the Mosaic dispensation. “It was added, because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made,” Gal. iii, 19. By delivering a moral law, which men felt themselves unable to obey; by denouncing judgments which it did not of itself provide any effectual method of escaping; and by holding forth, in various oblations, the promised and expected Saviour; “it was a schoolmaster to bring men unto Christ.” The covenant made with Abraham retained its force during the dispensation of the law, and was the end of that dispensation. The views which have been given furnish the ground upon which we defend that established language which is familiar to our ears, that there are only two covenants essentially different, and opposite to one another, the covenant of works, made with the first man, intimated by the constitution of human nature to every one of his posterity, and having for its terms, “Do this and live;”--and the covenant of grace, which was the substance of the Abrahamic covenant, and which entered into the constitution of the Sinaitic covenant, but which is more clearly revealed, and more extensively published in the Gospel. This last covenant, which the Scriptures call _new_ in respect to the mode of its dispensation under the Gospel, although it is not new in respect of its essence, has received, in the language of theology, the name of the covenant of grace, for the two following obvious reasons: because, after man had broken the covenant of works, it was pure grace or favour in the Almighty to enter into a new covenant with him; and, because by the covenant there is conveyed that grace which enables man to comply with the terms of it. It could not be a covenant unless there were terms,--something required, as well as something promised or given,--duties to be performed, as well as blessings to be received. Accordingly, the tenor of the new covenant, founded upon the promise originally made to Abraham, is expressed by Jeremiah in words which the Apostle to the Hebrews has quoted as a description of it: “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people,” Heb. viii, 10:--words which intimate on one part not only entire reconciliation with God, but the continued exercise of all the perfections of the Godhead in promoting the happiness of his people, and the full communication of all the blessings which flow from his unchangeable love; on the other part, the surrender of the heart and affections of his people, the dedication of all the powers of their nature to his service, and the willing uniform obedience of their lives. But, although there are mutual stipulations, the covenant retains its character of a covenant of grace, and must be regarded as having its source purely in the grace of God. For the very circumstances which rendered the new covenant necessary, take away the possibility of there being any merit upon our part: the faith by which the covenant is accepted is the gift of God; and all the good works by which Christians continue to keep the covenant, originate in that change of character which is the fruit of the operation of his Spirit. Covenants were anciently confirmed by eating and drinking together; and chiefly by feasting on a sacrifice. In this manner, Abimelech, the Philistine, confirmed the covenant with Isaac, and Jacob with his father Laban, Gen. xxvi, 26–31; xxxi, 44–46, 54. Sometimes they divided the parts of the victim, and passed between them, by which act the parties signified their resolution of fulfilling all the terms of the engagement, on pain of being divided or cut asunder as the sacrifice had been, if they should violate the covenant, Gen. xv, 9, 10, 17, 18; Jer. xxxiv, 18. Hence the Hebrew word _charat_, which properly signifies to divide, is applied allusively in Scripture to the making of a covenant. When the law of Moses was established, the people feasted in their peace-offerings on a part of the sacrifice, in token of their reconciliation with God, Deut. xii, 6, 7. See CIRCUMCISION.
[1,606 words — estimated reading time: 10 minutes]
COVENANTERS, in Scottish history, the name applied to a party, embracing the great majority of the people, who during the 17th century bound themselves to establish and maintain the Presbyterian doctrine and polity as the sole religion of the countrv, to the exclusion of Prelacy and Popery. An account of the covenanting cause as a religious and political movement belongs to the history of Scotland. There were several successive Covenants, similar in spirit and expression, the most important historically being the National Covenant of 1638 and the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643. These were both based upon earlier documents. In 1581 the General Assembly of Scotland adopted a confession of faith, or national covenant, drawn up by John Craig, condemning Episcopal government, under the name of hierarchy. This covenant was signed by James I. and enjoined on all his subjects. It was again subscribedin 1590 and 1596. The subscription was renewed in 1638, and the subscribers engaged by oath to maintain religion in the same state in which it existed in 1580, and to reject all innovations introduced since that time. This oath annexed to the confession of faith of 1581 received the name of the National Covenant. The additional matter was prepared by Johnston of Warriston and Alexander Henderson, and was intended to suit the document to the special circumstances of the time. It was adopted and signed by a large gathering in Greyfriars’ Churchyard, Edinburgh, on the 28th February, and copies were sent next day throughout the country for additional signatures. The Solemn League and Covenant was established in the year 1643, and formed a bond between Scotland, England, and Ireland for the united preservation of the Reformed religion in the Church of Scotland, the reformation of ...religion in England and Ireland “according to the Word of God and the example of the best Reformed churches,” and the extirpation of Popery and Prelacy. It was sworn and subscribed by many in both nations, approved by the Parliament and. Assembly at Westminster, and ratified by the General Assembly of Scotland in 1645. King Charles I. disapproved of it when he surrendered himself to the Scottish army in 1646; but in 1650 Charles II. by a solemn oath declared his approbation both of this and of the National Covenant; and in August the same year he made a further declaration at Dunfermline to the same purpose, which was renewed on the occasion of his coronation at Scone in 1651. In the same year also the covenant was ratified by Parliament, and subscription to it required from every member,—it being declared that without such subscription the constitution of the Parliament was null and void. It was afterwards renounced by Charles, and declared illegal by 13 and 14 Car. II. c. 4 (1662).
The two Covenants are usually published along with the Westminster Confession of Faith, though they are not now included among the authoritative symbols of any Presbyterian church. See λl i Crie , s Sketches of Scottish Church History, Cunningham’s Church History of Scotland, Grub’s Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, and Burton’s History of Scotland.
[518 words — estimated reading time: 3 minutes]
COVENTRY, an ancient city and municipal and parliamentary borough of England, in the county of Warwick, 18 miles E.S.E.of Birmingham. It stands on a gentle eminence, and is watered by the Sherbourne and the Radford Brook, which unite within the town. Of its ancient fortifications two gates and some portions of the wall are still extant, and several of the older streets present a picturesque appearance, from the number of half-timbered houses projecting over the footways. In the course of the present century, and more especially since 1850, great improvements have been made in various quarters. The most remarkable buildings are the churches; and of theβe the oldest are St Michael’s, one of the finest specimens of Perpendicular architecture in England, with a beautiful steeple rising to a height of 303 feet; Holy Trinity Church, a cruciform structure in the Later English style, with a steeple at the intersection 237 feet high; and St John’s, or Bablake Church, which is nearly a parallelogram on the ground plan, but cruciform in the clerestory with a tower in the centre. All three have been restored under the direction of Sir G. Gilbert Scott. Christ Church only dates from 1832, but it is attached to the ancient spire of the Grey Friars’ Church. Of secular edifices the most interesting is St Mary’s Hall, erected by the united guilds in the early part of the 15th century. The principal chamber, situated above a fine crypt, is 76 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 34 feet high; its roof is of carved oak, and in the north end there is a large window of old stained glass, with a curious piece of tapestry beneath nearly as old as the building. In the treasury is preserved a valuable collection of ancient muniments. Among the other public buildings of the city may be ...mentioned the new corporate offices and police court, the county hall, the drapers’ hall, the hospital, the corn-exchange, the market hall, the self-supporting dispensary, the free library, the institute, the baths, the theatre, and the barracks. The cemetery is one of the most beautiful in the kingdom. The educational institutions include a well-endowed free grammar school, founded in the reign of Elizabeth, and held in the disused church of the hospital of St John, a school of art, seven endowed charity schools, and a county reformatory for girls; and among the charitable foundations, which are numerous and valuable, Bond’s hospital for old men and Ford’s hospital for old women are remarkable as fine specimens of ancient timber work. Coventry w as early celebrated for its manufactures, and had numerous guilds or trading companies. It was noted for its woollens in the 15 th century, and subsequently acquired such a reputation for its dyeing that the expression “as true as Coventry blue” became proverbial. The weaving of tammies, camlets, shalloons, &c., succeeded; but these branches of industry no longer exist. At present the staple trades are ribbon and trimming weaving, elastic web manufacturing, dyeing, and watchmaking; to which may be added the weaving of woollens, carpets, and carriage-lace, the spinning of cotton, the manufacture of sewing machines and bicycles, art metal-work, and ironfounding. The fairs are numerous and well attended. The borough returns two members to Parliament. In 1871 the population of the municipal borough was 37,670 (17,750 males, and 19,920 females), and of the parliamentary borough, which comprises an area of 6448 acres, 41,348.
Coventry derives its name (Conventre, or convent town), from a Benedictine priory, founded in 1043 by Earl Leofric and his wife Lady Godiva, who were afterwards buried within the priory church. According to a well-known popular tradition, exquisitely related in Tennyson’s poem, the inhabitants were freed from the earl’s excessive taxation by the romantic devotion of the lady, who rode through the streets of the city “clothed on with chastity,” and thus compelled her husband to keep his oath. A procession, instituted in the time of Charles II. in commemorative imitation of the event, continued for many years to be annually celebrated; and an effigy called Peeping Tom is still pointed out projecting from an upper window at the corner of Smithford Street, popularly reputed to represent an inquisitive tailor, who was struck blind for having peered at the lady as she passed, while every other eye was averted in thankful reverence. Carmelite, Franciscan, and Carthusian monasteries were early established in the city, which was not long in acquiring a high position in the country. Gosford Green, outside its eastern walls, was chosen in 1397 for that great wager of battle between the dukes of Hereford and Norfolk, which w as interrupted by Richard IL, and formed such an important episode in the tragic history of the time. During the Wars of the Roses the citizens adhered to the Lancastrian party, and were consequently rewarded by Henry VI., whose charter, constituting the city and certain adjacent villages a separate county, continued in force till 1842. In the course of the 15th century several Parliaments were held in the town; and in 1569 it afforded for a short time a prison-house to Mary, Queen of Soots. Daring the troubles of the commonwealth the citizens espoused the cause of the Parliament; and on the restoration of Charles II. their fortifications were dismantled as a penalty for their disloyalty. To the student of English literature Coventry has a special interest on account of its mystery-plays, full details in regard to which will be found in Thomas Sharp’s Dissertation, 1825. Various explanations of the popular phrase “to send to Coventy” have been suggested,—none of them particularly satisfactory. See Reader’s History of Coventry, 1810; B. Poole’s History of Coventry, 1869; and Sharp’s Antiquities of Coventry, el. by Fretton, 1871.
[983 words — estimated reading time: 6 minutes]