SERM MON XV.

The Righteousness of CHRIST, an everlasting Righteoufnefs.

ON

DANIEL ix. 24.

And to bring in everlasting Righteousness.

N reading these words, I cannot help addreffing you in the language of the angels to the poor fhepherds, who kept watch over their flocks by night, "Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy," fuch tidings, that if we have ears to hear, if we have eyes to fee, and if our hearts have indeed experienced the grace of GoD, muft caufe us to cry out with the Virgin Mary, My foul doth magnify the LORD, and my spirit doth rejoice in GoD my Saviour." The words which I have read to you, are part of one of the most explicit revelations that was given of JESUS CHRIST, before he made his public entrance into this our world. It has been obferved by fome, and very properly too, that it is one mark of the divine goodness to his creatures, that he is pleased to let light come in gradually upon the natural world. If the fun from midnight darkness, was immediately to fhine forth in his full meridian blaze, his great fplendor would be apt to dazzle our eyes, and frike us blind again: but GOD is pleased to make light come gradually in, and by that means we are prepared to receive it. And as GOD is pleased to deal with the patural, fo he has dealt with the moral, with the spiritual world. The LORD JESUS CHRIST did not appear in his full glory all at once, but as the fun rifes gradually, fo did the LORD JESUS, the Sun of righteoufnefs, rife gradually upon men, with healing under his wings. Hence it was, that our first parents had nothing to fix their faith upon, but that first promife,

promife, "The feed of the woman fhall bruife the ferpent's head." And in future ages, at fundry times, and after divers manners, GOD was pleased to speak to our fathers by the prophets, before he spake to us in these last days by his fon; and the prophets that were more peculiarly dear to GOD, it fhould feem had more peculiar and extraordinary revelations youchfafed to them, concerning JESUS CHRIST.

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It is plain from the accounts we have in Scripture, that the Prophet Daniel was one of thefe; he is ftiled by the angel, not only a man that was beloved," but a man that was greatly beloved," or as it is in the margin of your bibles, “he was a man of defires," of large and extenfive defires to promote the glory of GOD; he was a defirable man, a man that did much good in his generation, and therefore his life was much to be defired by thofe who loved GOD. The words which I have chofen for the fubject of our present meditation, contain part of a revelation made to this man. If you look back to the beginning of this chapter, you will find how the good man was employed, when God was pleased to give him this revelation; verfe 2. In the first year of Darius's reign, I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the defolations of Jeru falem." Daniel was a great man, and withal a good man; great as he was, it feems he was not above reading his Bible; he made the Bible his constant study; for it is the Bible we are to understand by what is here termed books, and ellewhere, the fcriptures of truth. He found, that the time for GOD's people being delivered from the captivity, was now at hand. Well, one would have thought, that therefore Daniel needed not to pray; but this, instead of retarding, quickened him in his prayers: and therefore we are told in the third verse, "I fet my face unto the LORD GOD, to seek by prayer* and fupplications, with fafting and fackcloth, and ashes." It is beautifully expreffed: " he fet his face," as though he was refolved never to let his eye go off God, till GoD was pleased to give him an anfwer; he was refolved, Jacob-like, to wrestle with the LORD GOD, until Gon fhould be pleased to give him the defired bleffing. We are told in the fourth verfe, that he prayed unto the LORD, and made confeffion," not

only

only of his own fins, but the fins of his people. And when ye retire home to your houfes, before ye go to bed, I would recommend to you the reading of this prayer; every word of it befpeaks his exceeding concern for the public good. It would take me up too much time, was I to make fuch ob servations as indeed the prayer deferves; to bring you fooner to the words of the text, let us go forward to the twentieth verfe, and there you will find the fuccefs that Daniel met with, when praying. Says he, "while I was praying and confeffing my fin, and the fin of my people Ifrael, and prefenting my fupplication before the LORD my God, for the holy mountain of my God; yea, while I was fpeaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had feen in the vifion at the beginning, being caufed to fly fwiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation." The manner in which Daniel expreffes himself, is very emphatical: "While I was Speaking in prayer;" implying, that God fuffers us, when we' draw near to him by faith in prayer, to lay all our complaints before him; he fuffers us to speak unto, and talk with him, as a man talketh with his friend. Daniel at this time too was making confeffion one part of his prayer; for we are never, never in a better frame to receive answers from above, than when we are humbling ourselves before the LORD. He was not only confeffing his own fins, but he was confeffing the fins of his people; he was praying for thofe, who perhaps feldom prayed for themfelves; "while I was fpeaking in prayer, the man Gabriel:" which word, by interpretation, fignifies the strength of God; a very proper name, fays Bishop Hall, for that angel who was to come and bring the news to the world, of the GoD of ftrength, the LORD JESUS CHRIST. This angel is here reprefented as flying, and as flying fwiftly; to fhow us how willing, how unfpeakably willing those blessed Ipirits are, to bring good news to men. And it is upon this account, I fuppofe, that we are taught by our LORD to pray, that God's will may be done by us on earth, as it is done in heaven," that we may imitate a little of that alacrity and vigour, which angels employ, when they are fent on errands for GOD.

Well, here is not only mention made of the angel's flying fwiftly, but there is mention made of the time that he came;

"He

"He came and touched me, about the time of the evening, oblation," that is, about three o'clock in the afternoon; at this time there was a fácrifice made to Gob, and this facrifice. was in a peculiar manner a type of the LORD JESUS, who in the evening of the world was to become a facrifice for fin-. ners. We are told in the 22d verfe, what meffage this angel delivered, "He informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee fkill and under-, tanding; at the beginning of thy fupplication, the commandment came forth, and I am come to fhow thee, for thou art greatly beloved, therefore understand the matter, and confider the vifion." This paffage, with fuch-like paffages of fcrip-: ture, hath often comforted my foul, and may comfort the hearts of all GOD's people. There are a great many of you, perhaps, have prayed, and prayed again to GOD, and probably you do not find any anfwer given you: you pray for an enlarged heart, you pray for comfort, you pray for deliverance; GCD is pleased to withhold it for a while; then the devil ftrikes in, and fays, GOD has fhut out your prayers, GOD will never hear, GOD will never regard you, therefore pray no more. But, my dear friends, this is a mistake; a thousand years are with GOD as one day; and the LORD JESUS has bid us, "to pray always, and not faint." You may have had your prayers heard, the very moment they went out of your lips, though it may not please your GOD, (and it may not be proper for you) to let you know that they are heard." At the beginning of thy fupplication, the commandment went forth;" and this very angel fome hundred years after, told Zacharias, that his prayer was heard;" a prayer for what? a prayer for a child: it could not be fuppofed that at the very time Zacharias was praying for a child; but his prayer he had put up forty years before, GOD was pleased tơ anfwer fo long afterwards..

But to proceed with Gabriel's declaration, ver. 24. “Seventy years are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish tranfgreflion, to make an end of fins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteoufnels," I do not intend to trouble you about the critical expofition of these seventy weeks; commentators are divided exceedingly upon this fubject; some of them explain

them

them one way, and fome another, and perhaps we fhall never know till the day of judgment, till the glorious day. spoken of in the New Teftament, which are right. My intention is to dwell upon this particular part of the angel's meffage, that fome one perfon was to do fomething unspeakable for GOD's people, even "to bring in an everlasting righteoufnefs."

If you want to know who was the perfon that was to do this, look to the 26th verfe, and you will find the perfon mentioned, the LORD JESUS CHRIST: "after threescore and two weeks fhall the Meffiah be cut off, but not for himself:" he is the person spoken of, he was "to put an end to fin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting -righteousness,”

From these important words, I fhall endeavour,

First, To fhew you what we are to understand by the word, Righteousness."

Secondly, I fhall endeavour to fhew you, upon what account it is, that the righteousness mentioned in the text, is called an "everlasting righteousness."

Thirdly, I fhall fhew, what we are to understand by "bringing it in." And,

Then fpeak a word to faints and finners. And while I am speaking to your ears, may GoD, for the LORD JESUS CHRIST's fake, fpeak to your hearts!

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First, To explain what we are to understand by the word, righteousness." If I was to ask fome people what we are to understand by the word, righteousness; if the perfon was an Arminian, or an enemy to the doctrine of free grace, he would answer me, it fignifies what we commonly call moral bonefty, or doing juftice between man and man. And, indeed, in various paffages of fcripture, the word righteousness has no other meaning, at least, it bears that meaning. I suppose, we are to understand it in this fenfe, when we are told, that Paul, preaching before Felix," reafoned of temperance, of righteousness, and of a judgment to come." Fei had been a very unrighteous and unjust man, and there

fore,