Fifteen Sermons, Sermon 1
SERMON I.
The LORD our Righteouſneſs.
JEREMIAH, xxiii. 6.
The Lord our Righteouſneſs.
WHOEVER is acquainted with the nature of mankind in general, or the propenſity of his own heart in particular, muſt acknowledge, that ſelf-righteouſneſs is the laſt idol that is rooted out of the heart.—Being once born under a covenant of works, it is natural for us all to have recourſe to a covenant of works for our everlaſting ſalvation. And we have contracted ſuch a deviliſh pride by our fall from God, that we would, if not wholly, yet in part at leaſt, glory in being the cauſe of our own ſalvation. We cry out againſt Popery, and that very juſtly; but we are all papiſts, at leaſt I am ſure we are all Arminians by nature; and therefore, no wonder ſo many natural men embrace that ſcheme. It is true, we diſclaim the doctrine of merit, are aſhamed directly to ſay we deſerve any good at the hands of God; therefore as the apoſtle excellently well obſerves, we go about, we fetch a circuit, to eſtabliſh a righteouſneſs of our own, and, like the phariſees of old, will not wholly ſubmit to that righteouſneſs, which is of God through Jeſus Chriſt our Lord.
This is the ſoreſt, though alas! the moſt common evil that was ever yet ſeen under the ſun. An evil, that in any age, eſpecially in theſe dregs of time wherein we live, cannot ſufficiently be inveighed againſt.—For as it is with the people, ſo it is with the prieſts; and it is to be feared, even in thoſe places where once the truth, as it is in Jeſus, was eminently preached, many miniſters are ſo ſadly degenerated from their pious anceſtors, that the doctrines of grace, eſpecially the perſonal, all-ſufficient righteouſneſs of Jeſus, is but too ſeldom, too ſlightly mentioned. Hence the love of many waxeth cold; and I have often thought, was it poſſible, that this ſingle conſideration would be ſufficient to raiſe our venerable forefathers again from their graves; who would thunder in their ears their fatal error.
The righteouſneſs of Jeſus Chriſt is one of thoſe great myſteries which the angels deſire to look into, and ſeems to be one of the firſt leſſons that God taught men after the fall. For what were the coats that God made to put on our firſt parents, but types of the application of the merits or righteouſneſs of Jeſus Chriſt to believer's hearts? We are told, that thoſe coats were made of ſki… of beaſts, and as beaſts were not then food for men, we may fairly infer, that thoſe beaſts were ſlai… in ſacrifice, in commemoration of the great ſacrifice Jeſus Chriſt thereafter to be offered. And the ſkins of thoſe beaſts thus ſlain, being put on Adam and Eve, they were thereby taught how their nakedneſs was to be covered with the righteouſneſs of the Lamb of God.
This is it which is meant, when we are told Abraham believed on the Lord, and it was counted to him for righteouſneſs. In ſhort, this is it of which both the law and all the prophets have ſpoken, eſpecially Jeremiah in the words of the text—The Lord … righteouſneſs.—
I propoſe through divine grace,
I. To conſider who we are to underſtand by the word Lord.
II. How the Lord is man's righteouſneſs.
III. I will conſider ſome of the chief objections that are generally urged againſt this doctrine.
IV. I ſhall ſhew ſome very ill conſequences that flow naturally from denying this doctrine.
V. Shall conclude with an exhortation to all to come to Chriſt by faith, that they may be enabled to ſay with the prophet in the text, The Lord our righteouſneſs.
I. I am to conſider who we are to underſtand by the word Lord—The Lord our Righteouſneſs.
And if any Arians or Socinians are drawn by curioſity to hear what the babbler has to ſay, let them be aſhamed of denying the divinity of that Lord that has bought poor ſinners with his precious blood—For the perſon mentioned in the text under the character of Lord is Jeſus Chriſt.—Behold, ver. 5. the days come, ſaith the Lord, that I will raiſe unto David a righteous Branch, a King ſhall reign and …, ſhall execute judgement and juſtice in the … his days, ver. 6. Judah ſhall be ſaved, and … ſhall dwell ſafely: and this is his name whereby he ſhall be called, The Lord our righteouſneſs.—By the righteous Branch, all agree that we are to underſtand Jeſus Chriſt.—He it is that is called the Lord in our text. If ſo, if there were no other text in the Bible to prove the divinity of Chriſt, that is ſufficient. For if the word Lord may properly belong to Jeſus Chriſt, he muſt be God. For as you have it in the margins of your Bibles, the word Lord is in the original Jehovah, which is the eſſential title of God himſelf. Come then, ye Arians, kiſs the Son of God, bow down before him, and honour him, even as you honour the Father. Learn of the angels thoſe morning-ſtars, and worſhip him as truly God.—For otherwiſe you are as much idolaters, as thoſe that worſhip the Virgin Mary. And as for you Socinians, who ſay Chriſt was a mere man, and yet profeſs that he was your Saviour, according to your own principles, you are accurſed. For, if Chriſt be a mere man, then he is only an arm of fleſh—And it is written, Curſed is he that truſteth on an arm of fleſh.—But I would hope there are no ſuch monſters here. At leaſt, that after theſe conſiderations, they would be aſhamed of broaching ſuch monſtrous abſurdities any more.—For it is plain, that by the word Lord, we are to underſtand the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, who here takes to himſelf the title of Jehovah, and therefore muſt be very God, of very God, or, as the apoſtle devoutly expreſſes it, God bleſſed for ever more.
II. How the Lord is to be man's righteouſneſs comes next to be conſidered.
And that is, in one word, by imputation.—For it pleaſed God, after he had made all things by the word of his power, to create man after his own image. And ſo infinite was the condeſcenſion of the high and lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity, that although he might have inſiſted on the everlaſting obedience of him and his poſterity, yet he was pleaſed to oblige himſelf, by a covenant or agreement made with his own creautures, upon condition of an unſinning obedience, to give them immortality and eternal life.—For when it is ſaid, the day thou enteſt thereof, thou ſhalt ſurely die, we may fairly infer, ſo long as he continued obedient, and did not eat thereof, he ſhould ſurely live.—The 3d of Geneſis gives us a full, but mournful account, how our firſt parents broke this covenant, and thereby ſtood in need of a better righteouſneſs than their own, in order to procure their future acceptance with God—For what muſt they do? They were as much under a covenant of works as ever. And, though after their diſobedience they were without ſtrength, yet they were obliged not only to do, but continue to do all things, and that too in the moſt perfect manner which the Lord had required of them.—And not only ſo, but to make ſatisfaction to God's infinitely offended juſtice, for the breach they had already been guilty of—Here then opens the amazing ſcene of divine philanthropy—I mean, God's love to man—For behold, what man could not do, Jeſus Chriſt, the Son of his Father's love, undertakes to do for him. And that God might be juſt in juſtifying the ungodly, though he was in the form of God, and therefore thought it no robbery to be equal with God, yet he took upon him the form of a ſervant, even human nature—In that nature he obeyed, and thereby fulfilled the whole moral l…w in our ſtead.—And alſo died a painful … the croſs, and thereby became a curſe for, or … of, thoſe whom the Father had given him. A God, he … at the ſame time that he obeyed, and ſuffered a… …; and being God and man, in one perſon, wrought out a full, perfect, and ſufficient righteouſneſs for all to whom it was to be imputed.
Here then we ſee the meaning of the word righteouſneſs. It implies the active, as well as paſſive obedience of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt. We generally, when talking of the merits of Chriſt, only mention the latter, viz.—his death; whereas the former, viz. his life and active obedience, is equally neceſſary. Chriſt is not ſuch a Saviour as becomes us, unleſs we join both together.—Chriſt not only died, but lived; not only ſuffered, but obeyed, for or inſtead of poor ſinners. And both theſe jointly make up that complete righteouſneſs which is to be imputed to us, as the diſobedience of our firſt parents was made ours by imputation. In this ſenſe, and no other, are we to underſtand that parallel which St. Paul draws in the 5th of the Romans, between the firſt and ſecond Adam. This is what he elſewhere terms our being made the righteouſneſs of God in him. This is the ſenſe wherein the prophet would have us to underſtand the words of the text; therefore Jer. xxxiii. verſe 16. She i. e. the church itſelf ſhall be called (having this righteouſneſs imputed to her) the Lord our righteouſneſs.—A paſſage, I think, worthy of the profoundeſt meditation of all the ſons and daughters of Abraham.
Many are the objections which the proud hearts of fallen men are continually urging againſt this wholeſome, this divine, this ſoul ſaving doctrine. I come now, in the third place, to anſwer ſome few of thoſe which I think the moſt conſiderable.
And firſt, … ſay, becauſe they would appear friends to morality, That the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs is deſtructive of good works, and leads to licentiouſneſs.
And who pray are the perſons, that generally urge this objection? Are they men full of faith, and men really concerned for good works? No, whatever few exceptions there may be, if there be any at all, it is notorious, they are generally men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. The beſt title I can give them is, that of profane moraliſts or moraliſts falſely ſo called. For I appeal to the experience of the preſent, as well as paſt ages, if iniquity did and does not moſt abound where the doctrine of Chriſt's whole perſonal righteouſneſs is moſt cried down, and moſt ſeldom mentioned,—Arminian being antichriſtian principles, always did and always will lead to antichriſtian practices. And never was there a reformation brought about in the church but by the preaching the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs.— This, as that man of God Luther calls it, is Articulus ſtantis aut cadentis Eccleſiaſ…, the article by which the church ſtands or falls.—And though the preachers of this doctrine are generally branded by thoſe on the other ſide with the opprobious names of antinomians, deceivers, and what not; yet I believe, if the truth of the doctrine on both ſides was to be judged of by the lives of the preachers and profeſſors of it, thoſe on our ſide the queſtion would have the advantage every way.
It is true, this, as well as every other doctrine of grace may be abuſed. And perhaps the unchriſtian walk of ſome, who have talked of Chriſt's imputed righteouſneſs, juſtification by faith, and the like, and yet never felt it imputed to their own ſouls, has given the enemies of the Lord thus cauſe to blaſpheme. But this is a very unſafe, as well as very unfair way of arguing—The only queſtion ſhould be, Whether or not this doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs does in itſelf cut off the occaſion of good works, or lead to licentiouſneſs? No, in no wiſe. It excludes works indeed from being any cauſe of our juſtification in the ſight of God.—But it requires good works as a proof of our having this righteouſneſs imputed … us, and as a declarative evidence of our juſtification in the ſight of men. And then how can the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs be a doctrine leading to licentiouſneſs.
It is all calumny.—St. Paul introduces an infidel making this objection in his epiſtle to the Romans—And none but infidels, that never felt the power of Chriſt's reſurrection upon their ſouls, will urge it over again—And therefore, notwithſtanding this objection, with the prophet in the text, we may boldly ſay, The Lord our Righteouſneſs.
But Satan, (and no wonder that his ſervants imitate …) often transforms himſelf into an angel of light. And therefore (ſuch perverſe things will infidelity and Arminianiſm make men ſpeak) in order to dreſs their objections in the beſt colours, ſome urge, that our Saviour preached no ſuch doctrine—that in his ſermon upon the mount, he mentions only morality. and conſequently the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs falls wholly to the ground.
But ſurely the men who urge this objection, either never read, or never underſtood our bleſſed Lord's diſcourſe, wherein the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs is ſo plainly taught, that he that runs, if he has eyes that ſee, may read.
Indeed our Lord does recommend morality and good works (as all faithful miniſters will do) and clears the moral law from the many corrupt gloſſes put upon it by the letter-learned Phariſees—But then, before he comes to this, it is remarkable, he talks of inward piety, ſuch as poverty of ſpirit, meekneſs, holy mourning, purity of heart,—eſpecially hungering and thirſting after righteouſneſs, and then recommends good works, as an evidence of our having his righteouſneſs imputed to us, and theſe graces and divine tempers wrought in our hearts—Let your light, (that is, the divine light I before have been mentioning) ſhine before men, in a holy life, that they ſeeing your good works, may glorify your Father which is in heaven.—And then immediately adds, Think not that I am come to deſtroy the moral law—I came not to deſtroy, to take away the force of it as a rule of life, but to fulfil, to obey it in its whole latitude, and give the complete ſenſe of it.—And then he goes on to ſhew, how exceeding broad the moral law is. So that our Lord, inſtead of diſannulling an imputed righteouſneſs in his ſermon upon the mount, not only confirms it, but alſo anſwers the foregoing objection urged againſt it, by making good works a proof and evidence of its being imputed to our ſouls—He therefore that has ears to hear, let him hear what the prophet ſays in the words of the text—The Lord our Righteouſneſs.
But as Satan not only quoted ſcripture, but alſo backed one temptation with it after another, when he attacked Chriſt's perſon in the wilderneſs; ſo his children generally take the ſame method in treating his doctrine. And therefore they urge another objection againſt the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs from the example of the young man in the goſpel.
We may ſtate it thus:—The evangeliſt, St. Mark, ſay they, chap. x. mentions a young man that came to Chriſt, running and aſking him what he ſhould do to inherit eternal life? Chriſt, ſay they, referred him to the commandments, to know what he muſt do to inherit eternal life. It is plain therefore, works were to be partly, at leaſt, the cauſe of his juſtification: and conſequently the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs is unſcriptural.—This is the objection in all its full ſtrength; and little ſtrength in all its fulneſs.—For, was I to prove the neceſſity of an imputed righteouſneſs, I ſcarce know how I could bring a better inſtance to make it good.
Let us take a more intimate view of this young man, and our Lord's behaviour towards him, Mark x. 17. the evangeliſt tells us, That when Chriſt was gone forth into the way, there came one running (it ſhould ſeem it was ſome nobleman, a rarity indeed, to ſee ſuch a one running to Chriſt!) and not only ſo, but he kneeled to him (tho' perhaps many of his rank now ſcarce know the time when they kneeled to Chriſt) and aſked him, ſaying, Good maſter, what ſhall I do that I may inherit eternal life? —Then Jeſus, to ſee whether or not he believed him to be what he really was, truly and properly God, ſaid unto him; Why calleſt thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God.—And that he might directly anſwer his queſtion; ſays he, Thou knoweſt the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not bear falſe witneſs, Defraud not, Honour thy father and thy mother. This, I ſay, was a direct anſwer to his queſtion; namely, that eternal life was not to be attained by his doings.—For our Lord, by referring him to the commandments, did not (as the objectors inſinuate) in the leaſt hint, that his morality would recommend him to the favour and mercy of God.—But he intended thereby to make the law his ſchoolmaſter to bring him to himſelf; that the young man, ſeeing how he had broken every one of theſe commandments, might thereby be convinced of the inſufficiency of his own, and conſequently of the abſolute neceſſity of looking out for a better righteouſneſs, whereon he might depend for eternal life.
This was what our Lord deſigned.—The young man being ſelf-righteous, and willing to juſtify himſelf, ſaid, All theſe have I obſerved from my youth—But had he known himſelf, he would have confeſſed, All theſe have I broken from my youth.—For ſuppoſing he had not actually committed adultery, had he never luſted after a woman in his heart? What, if he had not really killed another; had he never been angry without a cauſe, or ſpoken unadviſedly with his lips? If ſo, by breaking one of the leaſt commandments in the leaſt degree, he became liable to the curſe of God: For, curſed is he, (ſaith the law) that continueth not to do all things that are written in this book.—And therefore, as I obſerved before, our Lord was ſo far from ſpeaking againſt, that he treated the young man in that manner on purpoſe to convince him of the neceſſity of an imputed righteouſneſs.
But perhaps they will reply, it is ſaid, Jeſus beholding him, loved him. And what then? This he might do with a human love, and at the ſame time this young man have no intereſt in his blood.—Thus Chriſt is ſaid to wonder,—to weep over Jeruſalem, and ſay—Oh that thou hadſt KNOWN, &c. But ſuch like paſſages are to be referred only to his human nature. And there is a great deal of difference between the love wherewith Chriſt loved this young man, and that wherewith he loved Mary, Lazarus, and their ſiſter Martha.—To illuſtrate this by a compariſon.—A miniſter of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, ſeeing many amiable diſpoſitions, ſuch as a readineſs to hear the word, a decent behaviour at public worſhip, a life outwardly ſpotleſs in many, cannot but ſo far love them. But then there is much difference betwixt that love which a miniſter feels for ſuch, and that divine love, that union and ſympathy of ſoul, which he feels for thoſe that he is ſatisfied are really born again of God.—Apply this to our Lord's caſe, as a ſaint illuſtration of it—Conſider what has been ſaid upon the young man's caſe in general, and then, if before you were fond of this objection, inſtead of triumphing like him, you will go ſorrowful away.—Our Saviour's reply to him more and more convinces us of the truth of the prophet's aſſertion in the text, viz. That the Lord is our Righteouſneſs.
But there is a fourth and grand objection yet behind, and that is taken from the 25th chapter of St. Matthew, where our Lord is deſcribed, as rewarding people with eternal life, becauſe they fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and ſuch like.—Their works therefore were a cauſe of their juſtification; conſequently, the doctrine of imputed righteouſneſs is not agreeable to ſcripture.
This, I confeſs, is the moſt plauſible objection that is brought againſt the doctrine inſiſted on from the text. And in order that we may anſwer it in as clear and as brief a manner as may be, we confeſs, with the article of the church of England, That albeit good works do not juſtify us, yet they will follow after juſtification, as fruits of it; and tho' they can claim no reward in themſelves, yet foraſmuch as they ſpring from faith in Chriſt, and a renewed ſoul, they ſhall receive a reward of grace, though not of debt; and conſequently, the more we abound in ſuch good works, the greater will be our reward when Jeſus Chriſt ſhall come to judgment.
Take theſe conſiderations, along with us, and they will help us much to anſwer the objection now before us.—For thus St. Matthew—Then ſhall the King ſay to them on his right hand, Come ye bleſſed children of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world—For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat. I was thirſty, and ye gave me drink. I was a ſtranger, and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me. I was ſick, and ye viſited me. I was in priſon, and ye came unto me. I will therefore reward you, becauſe you have done theſe things out of love to me, and hereby have evidenced yourſelves to be my true diſciples.—And that the people did not depend on theſe good actions for their juſtification in the ſight of God is evident. For when ſaw we thee an hungered, ſay they, and fed thee? Or thirſty, and gave thee drink? When ſaw we thee a ſtranger, and took thee in? Or naked, and cloathed thee? Or when ſaw we thee ſick, or in priſon and came unto thee?—Language and queſtions quite improper for perſons relying on their own righteouſneſs for acceptance and acquittance in the ſight of God.
But then they reply againſt this.—In the latter part of the chapter, ſay they, it is plain that Jeſus Chriſt rejects and damns the others for not doing theſe things. And therefore, if he damns thoſe for not doing, he ſave… thoſe for doing; and conſequently the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs is good for nothing.
But that is no conſequence at all—For God may juſtly damn any man for omitting the leaſt duty of the moral law, and yet in himſelf is not obliged to give any one any reward, ſuppoſing he has done all that he can. We are unprofitable ſervants, we have done not near ſo much as it was our duty to do, muſt be the language of the moſt holy ſouls living; and therefore from or in ourſelves, cannot be juſtified in the ſight of God—This was the frame of the devout ſouls juſt now referred to—Senſible of this, they were ſo far from depending on their works for juſtification in the ſight of God, that they were filled, as it were with a holy bluſhing, to think our Lord ſhould condeſcend to mention, much more to reward them for their poor works of faith and labours of love. I am perſuaded their hearts would riſe with a holy indignation againſt thoſe who urge this paſſage as an objection againſt the aſſertion of the prophet in the words of the text, that the Lord is our Righteouſneſs.
Thus I think we have fairly anſwered theſe grand objections, which are generally urged againſt the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs.—Was I to ſtop here, I think I might ſay, we are made more than conquerors, through him that loved us—But there is a way of arguing which I have always admired, becauſe I have thought always very convincing, viz. by ſhewing the abſurdities that will follow from denying any particular propoſition in diſpute.
IV. This is the next thing that was propoſed. And never did greater or more abſurdities flow from the denying any doctrine, than will flow from denying the doctrine of Chriſt's imputed righteouſneſs.
And firſt, if we deny this doctrine, we turn the truth. I mean the word of God, as much as we can into a lie, and utterly ſubvert all thoſe places of ſcripture, which ſay, That we are ſaved by grace; that it is not of works, leſt any man ſhould boaſt.—That ſalvation is God's free gift—and that, He that glorieth, muſt glory only in the Lord. For if the whole perſonal righteouſneſs of Jeſus Chriſt be not the ſole cauſe of my acceptance with God, if any work done by or foreſeen in me, was in the leaſt to be joined with it, or looked upon by God as an inducing impulſive cauſe of acquitting my ſoul from guilt, then I have ſomewhat whereof I may glory in myſelf. Now boaſting is excluded in the great work of our redemption. But that cannot be, if we are enemies to the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs.—It would be endleſs to enumerate how many texts of ſcripture muſt be falſe, if this doctrine be not true. Let it ſuffice to affirm in the general, that if we deny an imputed righteouſneſs, we may as well deny a divine revelation all at once.—For it is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of the book of God.—We muſt either diſbelieve that, or believe what the prophet hath ſpoken in the text, That the Lord is our Righteouſneſs.
But farther.—I obſerved at the beginning of this diſcourſe, that we are all Arminians and Papiſts by nature;—for, as one obſerves, Arminianiſm is the back way to Popery. And here I venture further to affirm, That if we deny the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs, whatever we may ſtyle ourſelves, we are really Papiſts in our hearts, and deſerve no other title from men.
Sirs, What think you?—Suppoſe I was to come and tell you, that you muſt intercede with ſaints, for them to intercede with God for you,—would you not then ſay, I was juſtly reputed a Popiſh miſſionary by ſome, and deſervedly thruſt out of the ſynagogues by others?—I ſuppoſe you would. And why? Becauſe you would ſay, the interceſſion of Jeſus Chriſt was ſufficient of itſelf, without the interceſſion of ſaints; and that it was blaſphemous to join theirs with his, as though it was not ſufficient.
Suppoſe I went a little more round about, and told you, that the death of Chriſt was not ſufficient, without our death being added to it; that you muſt die as well as Chriſt, join your death with his, and then it would be ſufficient.—Might you not then, with a holy indignation, throw duſt in the air, and juſtly call me a ſetter forth of ſtrange doctrines? And now then, if it be not only abſurd, but blaſphemous, to join the interceſſion of ſaints with the interceſſion of Chriſt, as though his interceſſion was not ſufficient; or our death with the death of Chriſt, as though his death was not ſufficient; judge ye, if it be not equally abſurd, equally blaſphemous, to join our obedience, either wholly or in part with the obedience of Chriſt, as if that was not ſufficient. And if ſo, what abſurdities will follow the denying that the Lord, both as to his active and paſſive obedience, is our righteouſneſs?
One more abſurdity I ſhall mention, that will follow from the denying this doctrine, and I have done.
I remember a ſtory of a certain prelate, who, after many arguments in vain urged to convince the Earl of Rocheſter of the inviſible realities of another world, took his leave of his lordſhip with ſome ſuch words as theſe:—Well, my lord, ſays he, if there be no hell, I am ſafe;—but, if there ſhould be ſuch a thing, my lord, as hell, what will become of you? I apply this to tho…. that oppoſe the doctrine now inſiſted on. If there be no ſuch thing as the doctrine of an imputed righteouſneſs, thoſe … hold it, and bring forth fruit unto holineſs, are ſafe. But if there be ſuch a thing, (as there certainly is) what will become of you that deny it? It is no difficult matter to determine.—Your portion muſt be in the lake of fire and brimeſtone for ever and ever; ſince you will rely upon your works, by your works you ſhall be judged.—They ſhall be weighed in the balance of the ſanctuary.—They will be found wanting.—By your works therefore ſhall you be condemned; and you, being out of Chriſt, ſhall find God to your poor wretched ſouls a conſuming fire.
The great Stoddard of Northampton in New-England, has therefore well intitled a book which he wrote (and which I would take this opportunity to recommend) "The ſafety of appearing in the righteouſneſs of Chriſt."—For why ſhould I lean upon a broken reed, when I can have the rock of ages to ſtand upon, that never can be moved?
And now before I come to a more particular application, give me leave, in the apoſtle's language triumphantly to cry out, Where is the ſcribe? where the diſputer? where is the reaſoning infidel of this generation? Can any thing appear more reaſonable, even according to your own way of arguing, than the doctrine here laid down? Have you not felt a convincing power go along with the word? Why then will you not believe on the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, that ſo he may become the Lord your righteouſneſs.
But it is time for me to come a little cloſer to your conſciences.
Brethren, though ſome may be offended at this doctrine, and may account at fooliſhneſs; yet to many of you, I doubt not but it is precious, it being agreeable to the form of ſound words, which from your infancy has been delivered to you: and coming from a quarter, you would leaſt have expected, may be received with more pleaſure and ſatisfaction. But give me leave to aſk you one queſtion, Can you ſay, the Lord our righteouſneſs?—I ſay, the Lord our righteouſneſs. For entertaining this doctrine in your heads, without receiving the Lord Jeſus Chriſt ſavingly by a lively faith into your hearts, will but increaſe your damnation.—As I have often told you, ſo I tell you again, an unapplied Chriſt, is no Chriſt at all. Can you then with believing Thomas, cry out, My Lord, and my God! Is Chriſt your ſanctification, as well as your outward righteouſneſs? For the word righteouſneſs in the text, not only implies Chriſt's perſonal righteouſneſs imputed to us, but alſo holineſs of heart wrought in us.—Theſe two God hath joined together—He never did, He never does, He never will put them aſunder.—If you are juſtified by the BLOOD, you are alſo ſanctified by the Spirit of the Lord. Can you then in this ſenſe ſay, the Lord our righteouſneſs? Were you never made to abhor yourſelves for your actual and original ſins, and to loathe your own righteouſneſs▪ (or as the prophet beautifully expreſſes it, your righteouſneſſes) as filthy rags? Were you never made to ſee and admire the all-ſufficiency of Chriſt's righteouſneſs, and excited by the ſpirit of God to hunger and thirſt after it? Could you ever ſay, my ſoul is athirſt for Chriſt, yea, even for the righteouſneſs of Chriſt? Oh, when ſhall I come to appear before the preſence of my God in the righteouſneſs of Chriſt! Oh, nothing but Chriſt! nothing but Chriſt? Give me Chriſt, O God, and I am ſatisfied! My ſoul ſhall praiſe thee for ever. Was this, I ſay, ever the language of your hearts?—And after theſe inward conflicts, were you ever enabled to reach out the arm of faith, and embrace the bleſſed Jeſus in your ſouls, ſo that you could ſay, My beloved is mine, and I am his? If ſo, fear not, whoever you are. Hail, all hail, you happy ſouls! The Lord, the Lord Chriſt, the everlaſting God is your righteouſneſs.—Chriſt has juſtified you: who is he that condemneth you? Chriſt has died for you, nay rather is riſen again, and ever liveth to make interceſſion for you.—Being now juſtified by his grace, you have peace with God, and ſhall, ere long, be with Jeſus in glory, reaping everlaſting and unſpeakable redemption both in body and ſoul.—For there is no condemnation to thoſe that are really in Chriſt Jeſus. Whether Paul or Apollos, or life or death, all is yours, if you are Chriſt's for Chriſt is God's—Oh, my brethren, my heart is enlarged towards you!—Oh, think on the love of Chriſt in dying for you!—If the Lord be your righteouſneſs, let the righteouſneſs of your Lord be continually in your mouth. Talk of, oh talk of and recommend the righteouſneſs of Chriſt, when you lie down, and when you riſe up, at your going out, and coming in!—Think of the greatneſs of the gift, as well as of the giver!—Shew to all the world in whom you have believed! Let all by your fruits know, that the Lord is your righteouſneſs, and that you are waiting for your Lord from heaven!—Oh ſtudy to be holy, even as … who has called you, and waſhed you in his own blood, is holy!—Let not the righteouſneſs of the Lord be evil ſpoken of through you.—Let not Jeſus be wounded in the houſe of his friends; but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jeſus Chriſt day by day—Oh, think of his dying love! Let that love conſtrain you to obedience! Having much forgiven, love much. Be always aſking, what ſhall I do to expreſs my gratitude to the Lord, for giving me his righteouſneſs? Let that ſelf-abaſing▪ … queſtion be always in your mouths. Oh be always liſping out, Why me. Lord! Why me? Why am I taken, and others left? Why is the Lord my righteouſneſs? Why is he become my ſalvation, who have ſo often deſerved damnation at his hands.
Oh, my friends, I truſt I feel ſomewhat of a ſenſe of God's diſtinguiſhing love upon my heart! therefore I muſt divert a little from congratulating you, to invite poor Chriſtleſs ſinners to come to him, and accept of his righteouſneſs, that they may have life.
Alas, my heart almoſt bleeds! What a multitude of precious ſouls are now before me! How ſhortly muſt all be uſhered into eternity:—And yet, O cutting thought! was God now to require all your ſouls, how few, comparatively ſpeaking, could really ſay, the Lord our Righteouſneſs.
And think you, O ſinners, that you will be able to ſtand in the day of judgment, if Chriſt be not your righteouſneſs! No, that alone is the wedding-garment in which you muſt appear.—Oh, Chriſtleſs ſinners, I am diſtreſſed for you!—The deſires of my ſoul are enlarged.—Oh, that this may be an accepted time! Oh, that the Lord may be your righteouſneſs!—For whether would you flee, if death ſhould find you naked?—Indeed there is no hiding yourſelves from his preſence.—The pitiful fig-leaves of your own righteouſneſs will not cover your nakedneſs, when God ſhall call you to ſtand before him.—Adam found them ineffectual, and ſo will you.—Oh, think of death! Oh, think of judgment! Yet a little while, and time ſhall be no more: and then what will become of you, if the Lord be not your righteouſneſs? Think you, that Chriſt will ſpare you? No, He that formed you, will have no mercy on you. If you are out of Chriſt, if Chriſt be not your righteouſneſs, Chriſt himſelf will pronounce you damned.—And can you bear to think of being damned by Chriſt? Can you bear to hear the Lord Jeſus ſay unto you, Depart from me ye curſed, into everlaſting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels? Can you live, think you, in everlaſting burnings? Is your fleſh braſs, and your bones iron? What if they are? hell-fire, that fire prepared for the devil and his angels, will heat them through and through! And can you bear to depart from Chriſt! Oh, that heart-piercing thought! Aſk thoſe holy ſouls, who are at any time bewailing an abſent God, who walk …, and ſee no … though but a few days … them, what it is to loſe a ſight and preſence of Chriſt?—See how they ſeek him ſorrowing, and go mourning after him all the day long! And if it is ſo dreadful to loſe the ſenſible preſence of Chriſt, only for a day, what muſt it … to be baniſhed from him to all eternity?—But thus it muſt be, if Chriſt be not your righteouſneſs.—For God's juſtice muſt be ſatisfied; and unleſs Chriſt's righteouſneſs is imputed and applied to you here, you muſt be ſatisfying the divine juſtice in hell torments eternally here after. Nay; as I … before, Chriſt himſelf, the God of love, ſhall condemn you to that place … … ment.—And oh, how … is that thought—Methinks I ſee poor, …, Chriſtleſs wretches, ſtanding before the bar of God, crying out, Lord, if we muſt be damned, let ſome angel, or ſome archangel pronounce the damnatory ſentence. But all in vain.—Chriſt himſelf ſhall pronounce the irrevocable ſentence—Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord, let me perſuade you to cloſe with Chriſt, and never reſt, till you can ſay, the Lord our righteouſneſs.—Who knows but the Lord may have mercy on, nay, abundantly pardon you?—Beg of God to give you faith;—and if the Lord give you that, you will by it receive Chriſt, with his righteouſneſs, and his all. You need not fear the greatneſs or number of your ſins.—For are you ſinners? ſo am I. Are you the chief of ſinners? ſo am I. Are you backſliding ſinners? ſo am I. And yet the Lord (for ever adored … his rich, free, and ſovereign grace) the Lord is … righteouſneſs. Come then, O young men, who (as I acted once myſelf) are playing the prodigal, and wandering away afar off from your heavenly Father's houſe, come home, come home, and leave your ſwine's trough.—Feed no longer on the huſks of ſenſual delights.—For Chriſt's ſake, ariſe and come home!—Your heavenly Father now calls you.—See yonder the beſt robe, even the righteouſneſs of his dear Son awaits you.—See it, view it again and again.—Conſider at how dear a rate it was purchaſed, even by the blood of God.—Conſider what great need you have of it.—You are loſt, undone, damned for ever, without it.—Come then, poor, guilty prodigals. Come home.—Indeed I will not like the elder brother, be angry.—No, I will rejoice with the angels in heaven: And oh, that God would now bow the heavens, and come down! …, O Son of God, deſcend; and as thou haſt ſhewn …, the bleſſed Spirit apply … to ſome prodigals now before thee, and clothe their naked ſouls with thy beſt robe.
But I muſt ſpeak a word to you, young maidens, as well as young men.—I ſee many of you adorned, as to your bodies;—But are not your ſouls naked! Which of you can ſay the Lord is my righteouſneſs; Which of you was ever ſolicitous to be dreſſed in this robe of invaluable p…ice, and without which, you are no better than whit…d ſepulchres in the ſight of God? Let not then ſo many of you, young maidens, any longer forget your only ornament: Oh, ſeek for the Lord to be your righteouſneſs or otherwiſe burning will ſoon be upon you inſtead of beauty!
And what ſhall I ſay to you of a middle age, you buſy merchants, you cumbred Marthas, who with all your gettings, have not yet gotten the Lord to be your righteouſneſs? Alas! what profit will there be of all your labour under the ſun, if you do not ſecure this pearl of invaluable price? This one thing, ſo abſolutely needful, that it can only ſtand you in ſtead, when all other things ſhall be taken from you. Labour therefore no longer ſo anxiouſly for the meat which periſheth, but henceforward ſeek for the Lord to be your righteouſneſs—A righteouſneſs that will entitle you to life everlaſting.—I ſee alſo many hoary heads here, and perhaps the moſt of them cannot ſay, the Lord is my righteouſneſs.—O grey-headed ſinners, I could weep over you!—Your grey hairs, which ought to be your crown, and in which perhaps you glory, are now your ſhame. You know not that the Lord is your righteouſneſs. Oh, haſte then, haſte, ye aged ſinners, and ſeek an intereſt in redeeming love!—Alas, you have one foot already in the grave.—Your glaſs is juſt run out.—Your ſun is juſt going down, and it will ſet and leave you in an eternal darkneſs, unleſs the Lord be your righteouſneſs!—Flee then, oh flee for your lives! be not afraid.—All things are poſſible with God. If you come, though it be at the eleventh hour, Chriſt Jeſus will in no wiſe caſt you out. Oh, ſeek then for the Lord to be your righteouſneſs, and beſeech him to let you know how it is that a man can be born again when he is old!—But I muſt not forget the lambs of the flock.—To feed them was one of my Lord's laſt commands.—I know he will be angry with me, if I do not tell them, that the Lord may be their righteouſneſs; and that of ſuch is the kingdom of heaven.—Come then, ye little children, come to Chriſt; the Lord Chriſt ſhall be your righteouſneſs.—Do not think, that you are too young to be converted.—Perhaps many of you may be nine or ten years old, and yet cannot ſay the Lord is our righteouſneſs; which many have ſaid, though younger than you.—Come then, while you are young.—Perhaps you may not live to be old—Do not ſtay for other people.—If your fathers and mothers will not come to Chriſt, do you come without them.—Let children lead them, and ſhew them how the Lord may be their righteouſneſs.—Our Lord Jeſus loved little children—You are his Lambs—He bids me ſeed you.—I pray God make you willing betimes to take the Lord for your righteouſneſs.
Here then I could conclude,—but I muſt not forget the poor negroes—No, I muſt not. Jeſus Chriſt has died for them, as well as others. Nor do I mention you laſt, becauſe I deſpiſe your ſouls, but becauſe I would wiſh what I have to ſay, to make the deeper impreſſion upon your hearts.—Oh that you would ſeek the Lord to be your righteouſneſs!—Who knows but he may be found of you. For in Jeſus Chriſt there is neither male nor female, bond or free; even you may be the children of God, if you believe in Jeſus. Did you never read of the Eunuch belonging to the queen of Candace?—a negro like yourſelves.—He believed—The Lord was his righteouſneſs, he was baptized. Do you alſo believe, and you ſhall be ſaved.—Chriſt Jeſus is the ſame now, as he was yeſterday, and will waſh you in his own blood.—Go home then, turn the words of the text into a prayer, and intreat the Lord to be your righteouſneſs.—Even ſo, come Lord Jeſus, come quickly, into all our ſouls! Amen, Lord Jeſus, Amen and Amen.