DISCOURSE II.Evangelical Righteousness.
Jeremiah,Chap.xxiii.Verse6.
"And this is his Name, whereby he shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness."
The great and essential distinction betwixt the legal and evangelical dispensation, is accurately pointed out by the Apostle, where he tells us, that "the law is but the shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things." Its types, ceremonies, and outward ordinances, are taken from the objects of temporal nature, which are, at best, but shadowy representations of Eternal Truth. "The comers thereunto could never be perfected," bythe most minute observation of its external rites. The pious, spiritual Jews, therefore, must have looked further than these, and considered every outward purification, as figuratively expressive of an inward cleansing to be performed in their hearts.
Moses, their inspired Legislator, and the prophets that succeeded him, did not fail to acquaint them with the immediate and necessary reference of these temporal symbols to Spiritual and Eternal Truths. Nevertheless, it appears but too evident, from the whole Jewish history, that the generality rested their hopes of salvation, merely upon their outward law: "They went about to establish a righteousness of their own," founded upon a strict observance of the Levitical ceremonies, which were only adapted to their present circumstances, without paying the least attention to that Inward Law of Righteousness,to which these ceremonies referred.
Hence it was, that their prophets were directed by the Most High, to express, in the strongest terms, his disapprobation of those very ordinances, which he himself had originally instituted for their good; and to tell them, that "he had no pleasure in their burnt-offerings and sacrifices, that their oblations were vain, and that incense was an abomination in his sight." His displeasure was not with the ordinances themselves; for, if considered and observed with proper views and dispositions, they would have been subservient to the most glorious purposes: but he was offended with the gross and flagrant abuses of them, which the people were daily committing.
Hence also it was, that the same inspired prophets, when the hand of theHighestdrew aside the curtain of futurity,and exhibited to their astonished view the successive displays of Gospel Light and Truth, with all that variety of heavenly scenery, which hisIncarnate Sonwas to open upon our benighted world; hence it was, I say, that the same inspired prophets were particularly careful to distinguish the new dispensation, by every figure and mode of expression, that might lead the most dark and ignorant Jew to consider it as internal and spiritual.
The righteousness of the new covenant is widely different from what the carnal Israelite apprehended to be the righteousness of the old. With respect to their essence, their foundation, their motives and ends, both covenants are the same, differing only in the external mode of revelation; the old being "the shadow," the new "the image of good things to come;" the old, pointing toChrist;the new, revealing him in all his fulness to the faithful.
Christ Jesus, therefore, is and must be, "the end of the law to those that believe;" that is, he is and must be, in himself, that very Righteousness to which the law pointed, but which it could not attain. "As a school-master," it served to instruct its ignorant, dark, and fallen pupils, in the outward rudiments of Divine Truth; but could never communicate to them the Light, Life, and Spirit of that real Evangelical Righteousness, which is only to be found in theIncarnate Word of God.
It is for this reason, that the prophet, speaking of the approaching kingdom of theMessiah, in whom all the law and the prophets were to center, represents him as "a righteous branch springing forth from the root of David; as a king, reigning, prospering, and executingjudgment and justice on the earth;" in consequence of whose mild and equitable administration, "Judah should be saved, and Israel should dwell safely:" and, as the most characteristical designation of his nature and office, tells us, that "This is hisName, whereby he shall be called,The Lord our Righteousness."
Let us then enquire, in the first place, why ourBlessed Redeemerhas the name ofRighteousnessascribed to him by the prophet; and secondly, what we are to understand by his being called "our Righteousness."
I. A name in Scripture is generally put to express the intrinsic nature and qualities of the object named. When, therefore, the name of theMessiahis here said to be "Righteousness," we must necessarily conclude, that Righteousness is his very nature, his essence, the substanceof all his attributes and perfections. He is not called righteous, butRighteousnessitself; the source and fountain, from whence all that is really and truly righteous, throughout the universe, perpetually proceeds.
Jesus Christis "the Brightness of the Father's Glory, and the Express Image of his Person." All the beauties, excellencies, powers, and virtues, which are essentially hidden in the invisibleGodhead, are substantially, vitally, inwardly, as well as outwardly, opened, revealed, and illustriously displayed, in the person of theIncarnate Jesus. "All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made, that was made:" all the "thrones, dominions, principalities and powers," possessed by angels, archangels, cherubim and seraphim, are derived from him; for, "in, and through him, did the Father create all things."The highest degree of Righteousness which the highest Seraph can attain, is but a beam or efflux from this Eternal Sun. With glory undiminished he perpetually imparts spiritual life and vigour to all those countless myriads of intelligences, which inhabit the whole compass of universal nature. He is himself the living law, the eternal rule of order and rectitude.God the Fatherhath "set this his King of Righteousness on his holy hill of Sion." Every outward institute, revealed and written, whichGodhath "at sundry times and in divers manners," delivered to the sons of men, was but a transcript of that original law, which lives for ever in the heart ofChrist. "I am the way, the truth, and the life;" "no man cometh unto the Father, but by me; ye will not come unto me, that ye may have life; without me, ye can do nothing—" are his own blessed words.
Nature, without thisChrist of God, is impurity, emptiness, poverty, want, and wretchedness extreme: nature illuminated, enriched, refreshed, glorified by him, is holy, righteous, lovely, supremely happy. Known or unknown to our fallen race, it isHealone, who inspires every good thought, every righteous deed, every sentiment and action that is amiable and endearing.
In the acts of the apostles we read of an altar with this inscription, "To the unknownGod!" St. Paul, taking occasion from this circumstance, tells the Athenians, "Him whom ye ignorantly worship, preach I unto you." In the whole frame of nature, says a truly sublime writer, every heart, every creature, every affection, every action, is an altar with the same kind of inscription, "To the unknown Beauty!—To the unknown Righteousness!—To the unknown Jesus!" This is the eternal standard oftruth, order, righteousness and perfection, to which every being in nature ignorantly moveth; this is that which all understandings, all hearts, cannot but admire and adore. But blessed above all beings are those, whose hearts are spiritual altars, with the righteous person ofChristengraven upon them by the finger ofGod, flaming with the fire of Heavenly Love, and bearing this radiant inscription, "To the known and experienced Beauty and Righteousness of thatJesus, whom we know; that Word of Life, which our eyes have seen, our ears have heard, our hands have handled, and spiritually embraced!" And this leads me, in the second place, to inquire what we are to understand byChrist'sbeing called "Our Righteousness."
II. Under my first head, I observed to you from Scripture, thatGodcreated all things "in and byJesus Christ;" andthat "without him, was not any thing made that was made." Man, in particular, was "created in the Image ofGod:"Christis "the Brightness of the Father's Glory, and the Express Image of his Person:" and, therefore, man was created inChrist.
Man in himself, in his outward nature, was but an empty vessel, till theChrist of Godbecame his fulness and perfection. His outward form was from the dust of the earth; but his inward spirit was the breath of theMost High. The Image ofGod, evenChristhimself, was his first, his sole Righteousness and perfection; the infallible instructor and enlightener of his understanding, the unerring guide and director of his will. The Name by which theSonofGodwas known to him, was "The Lord his Righteousness." Angels themselves know no other Righteousness, than the Righteousness ofGodinChrist.
The fall of man, or "Original sin," (as our church article with great truth and propriety expresses it) "is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil." We have already seen what this original righteousness was, which man possessed in a state of innocence, viz. that it wasChrist, "the Lord his Righteousness," in him. This is what Adam lost—This is whatChristalone can restore.
Man in his present fallen state, withoutChrist, must be naturally inclined to evil; he has no righteousness of his own. And he can no more be saved by any exertion of his own natural powers, than he can see by the utmost stretch of his organs of sight, without the light of the sun.
Here then a serious and inquiring mind may be ready to ask—How is thisBlessed Redeemerto become my Righteousness? I feel the force of these Scripture truths you have mentioned, and experience in my soul the dreadful consequences of an original apostasy—But I know not, whetherChristis my Righteousness, or not. I know not, whether I have the least traces of his Righteous Image in my soul.
"HathChrist, then, been so long time with thee, and yet hast thou not known him?" Every little rebuke of conscience; every emotion of kindness, tenderness, and love; every sympathetic feeling of the prosperity or distress of thy neighbour; every sensibility of admiration, esteem, and joy, from contemplating a truly wise and virtuous character; every fervent desire of imitating what is good and excellent in others; every weak aspiration after holiness and perfection;nay, every little feeling of the restless cravings of thine own nature, every little longing after happiness unpossessed; all, all isChrist, speaking within thee, and waiting and watching to reveal himself in Righteousness to thy soul. Nothing, therefore, is wanting, on thy part, but a calm and quiet resignation of thyself, and all that is within thee, to his sovereign disposal, to redeem, purify, and restore, to do every thing that is necessary to be done, and which he alone can do, for thy salvation.
Thus have I endeavoured to give the plain and obvious meaning of the text. Distinctions upon distinctions have been multiplied; books upon books have been published, to tell us that we are to be justified by the Personal Righteousness ofChristoutwardly imputed, and sanctified by the inherent graces of theHoly Spirit; that one must necessarily precede the other; and that we must be perfect inChristby Justification, beforewe can have the least spark of Holiness by Sanctification. This is, indeed, travelling in the broad and popular road; and such kind of preaching might be to the "praise of men." Let systems be written upon systems, and comments upon comments; let preachers oppose preachers, and hearers wander after this or that form of godliness; but may Heaven in mercy preserve us from taking up our rest, or placing our dependence upon any thing less than an intimate and experimental knowledge of "TheLord our Righteousness" revealing himself, with all his holy heavenly tempers, virtues, and dispositions, in our hearts! May we never rest satisfied with a nominal profession of Christianity, a nominal acquaintance withChrist, or a nominal remission of sins; for, surely, we are not warranted, by Scripture, to look upon ourselves as redeemed byChrist, and born again of him, till by a total purification, a complete deliverance from all the evil tempers andpassions of our fallen life, he hath obtained a full and peaceable possession of our whole nature, erected his Throne of Righteousness in our hearts, and by the effectual working of hisHoly Spiritbrought us to the "measure of the stature of thatFulness, which is inHimself."