The Covenant of the Day and of the Night
Oil
on paperboard, 6 x 10, December 25, 2014
“Thus
saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the
night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be
broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his
throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. As the host of heaven
cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply
the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. Moreover the word of the LORD came to
Jeremiah, saying, Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying,
The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus
they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before
them. Thus saith the LORD; If my
covenant be not with
day and night, and if I
have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away
the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that
I will not take any of
his seed to be rulers
over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to
return, and have mercy on them.”
Jeremiah
33: 20-26
Praise God: there are some things
mankind just can’t screw up!
I think this is my best work so
far in sentiment. I’ve done things more
realistic, things more detailed, things bigger, things with better technique, things
that took longer, but this is the most pleasing to me in feeling. Artists often perplex others with what they
consider their best work: Church left a number of people today scratching their
heads because he said he considered Jerusalem
to be his best. So perhaps people will
be confused when I say this is my best.
It has all the touching romantic spirit to it that I strive for. For me the art is in the feeling.
I had the above verses in mind
while painting this. But I know a number
of other subjects can be read into this, and each one is powerful. It can be any of the Prophets of old. It can be John the Baptist in the
wilderness. It can be the days of the
Lord’s tempting. When I look at it, I recall
the Lord’s promises, that there are just some things that are dependent only
upon Him.
Salvation is one of those
things. If you acknowledge you are a
sinner, repent of your sins and acknowledge you cannot in any way save
yourself, and if you believe that Jesus Christ suffered, was crucified, died
and was buried, and resurrected to pay for your sins, and you accept Christ as
your personal savior, then you have salvation.
All past, present and future sins are forgiven, and your salvation is as
eternal as God Himself. So praise God:
there are just some things we cannot screw up!
