tions; but it is a free gift. Grace, as a sovereign, is exalted to confer it; and grace, we know, deals only with the unworthy. As a gift it is imparted; as a gift, therefore, it must be received; and as for an absolutely free gift, the professor of it should be thankful. From these considerations we may with confidence affirm, that the mere sinner, the condemned creature; he who feels himself in a perishing condition, and is conscious that he deserves no favour; has the strongest encouragement given him to rely on it, as quite sufficient for his justification, and absolutely free for his use. Yes, disconsolate sinner, you have no reason to hesitate, whether you have a right to conceive it, and to call it your own. Believing the testimony which God has given of his Son, you receive it, and enjoy the comfort arising from it. Heaven proclaims your welcome to Christ, and eternal faithfulness insures acceptance to all that believe in him. By a figure of speech that is frequent in Scripture, this righteousness is represented as speaking. Doubtless, then, so noble a righteousness must have a charming language; and a little attention will discover its import. The language of this righteousness is represented by Paul, as directly contrary to that description which Moses gives of the righteousness of the law; and thus it addresses the anxious inquirer. Say not in thy heart who shall ascend into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down from abone; as though he had not appeared in our nature, to perform a righteousness for the justification of sinners. Nor does it bid thee inquire, Who shall descend into the deep? That is, to bring up Christ again from the Idead; as if he had not perfectly paid the debt for which, as a surety, he became responsible; and received in his resurrection, from the hand of his Father, an acquittance in full for himself and his people. But what saith it, what then is its language? The word of grace which reveals this righteousness is nigh thee, sinful and wretched as thou art. Even so near, as to be in thy mouth to proclaim its excellence, and in thy heart, to enjoy its comfort; that is the word, the doctrine of faith which we preach. It further says, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, as dying an accursed death for the redemption of sinners, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, as a Divine testimony that the atonement made was accepted by eternal justice; thou shalt be saved from final misery, and exalted to the joys of heaven.* The language of this Divine righteousness is here described, both negatively and positively. Negatively, we are not commanded to do some arduous work, in order to obtain acceptance; nor are we required to do any thing at all for that purpose. Because it is evident that believing in Christ, which is here mentioned, is, in the business of justification, opposed to works and doings of every kind.† The faith here designed, is, therefore, to be considered as the receiving of Christ and his righteousness; or, as a dependence on him alone for salvation. Believ ing the gracious report, we receive the atonement; we enjoy comfort; and have the earnest of eternal glory. But as the awakened sinner is ever disposed to imagine that he must do some great thing, in order to obtain the pardon of sin and peace for his conscience; therefore the language of this righteousness is also described positively. Thus considered, it plainly declares that the only obedience by which there is favour with God, and a title to happiness, is already performed: and that the anxious inquirer is not left in a state of uncertainty how it may be enjoyed; for it is brought near in the word of grace, with a free welcome to rely on it and use it as his own, to the everlasting honour of its Divine Author. By comparing what the apostle says about the righteousness of faith, with what Moses declares concerning the righteousness of the law, we learn, That whoever thinks of doing any good work, as the condition of life, is ignorant of that obedience which the gospel reveals; is under the law, as a covenant; is a debtor to perform the whole; and, as a breaker of it, is obnoxious to its awful curse. This is his case, even when, with the Pharisee in the parable, he thanks God for assisting him to per Rom. x. 5-9. † Rom. iv. 5. 16. Gal. iii. 12. 18. form the supposed condition, whether great or small. For the righteousness of the law, and the righteousness of faith, are here directly opposed. This is evident from the scope of the place in general; and especially from the adversative but, with which what is said about the righteousness of faith is introduced. This vicarious obedience is no less useful to the sinner, than perfect in itself. By this work of our heavenly Substitute, that holy law which we have broken is highly honoured; and that awful justice which we have offended is completely satisfied. By this righteousness the believer is acquitted from every charge, is perfectly justified, and shall be eternally saved. In this consuminate work, Jehovah declares himself well pleased, and in it all the glories of the Godhead shine. Yes, the obedience of our adorable Sponsor is perfect as Divine rectitude could require; and excellent as eternal wisdom itself could devise. Admirable righteousness! Who that is taught of God, would not, with Paul, desire to be found in it? and who, that is conscious of an interest in it, can cease to admire and adore the grace that provided, and the Saviour that wrought it? How Is the obedience of the Lord Redeemer so glorious in its nature, so excellent in its properties, so free in the manner of its communication to the ungodly, and so extensively useful to all that possess it? What encouragement, then, has the miserable sinner to look to it? safely may he confide in it, as all-sufficient to justify his ungodly soul! For, be the demands of the Divine law and infinite justice ever so great, or numerous, or dreadful; the work of Christ completely answers them all. There is greater efficacy in the grace of God, and in the work of his incarnate Son, to justify and save from deserved perdition, than there can be demerit in the offences of a sinner, to incur condemnation and ruin. Nor can it seem strange that the work of Christ should be thus efficacious. For God the Son performed it, in the capacity of a substitute. God the Father declares his delight in it, and treats as his children all those that are vested with it. And it is the principal business of God the Holy Spirit, as a guide and a comforter, to testify of it. So that every other righteousness, in comparison with it, is quite insignificant: if set in competition with it, is viler than dross, and worse than nothing. In this righteousness Christians of all ages have gloried, both living and dying, as the only ground of their hope. In this most perfect obedience believers are now exalted and the saints in heaven triumph. For the work of Christ finished on a cross is the burden of their songs. But who can point out all its beauties? Who can show forth half its praise? After all that has been written or said about it, by prophets or apostles, here on earth; after all that has been sung or can be conceived, by saints or angels in the world of glory; considered under its Divine character, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF JEHOVAH, it exceeds all possible praise. The inhabitants of the heavenly world must be conscious that their loftiest strains, though expressed with seraphic ardour, fall vastly short of displaying all its excellence. So that, "When Gabriel sounds these glorious things, CHAPTER XIII. CONCERNING THE CONSUMMATION OF THE GLORIOUS REIGN OF GRACE. As Divine grace is glorious in itself, and infinitely superior to all that is denominated free favour among men ; as the way in which it reigns is absolutely without a parallel, and such as will render it forever dear to all the disciples of Christ; so the end of its benign government is equally glorious: for it is eternal life. Reviving, ravishing thought! This, in subordination to his own glory, is the great design of God in every gracious dispensation towards his people. The emphatical phrase is used in Scripture to signify, An everlasting state of complete holiness and consummate happiness, in the presence and fruition of God, in all his persons and perfections. To this blissful state, grace, as a sovereign, infallibly brings her subjects, through the person and work of Imma nuel. To assist our feeble and contracted minds in forming some faint ideas of celestial blessedness, and to inform us by whom it shall be enjoyed; it is compared by sacred writers to the most delightful and glorious things that come under our notice in the present world. For instance: To denote its superabounding delights, it is called paradise, in allusion to the garden of Eden: for at God's right hand are pleasures forevermore. To signify its grandeur, magnificence, and glory, it is called a crown and a kingdom. As a crown, it is unfading and incorruptible. To intimate that none shall enjoy it, except in virtue of the Redeemer's obedience, it is denominated a crown of righteousness. It is also called a crown of life and a crown of glory. As a kingdom, it was prepared for believers before the foundation of the world, and is the kingdom of their Father; who bestows it upon them here, in right to possess; hereafter, in perfect enjoyment. To ascertain its perpetuity, it is called an everlasting kingdom and those that enjoy it are called kings, are said to sit upon thrones, and to reign in life. To inform us who shall possess it, and on what ground, it is called an inheritance. Plainly denoting, that none but the children of God shall enjoy it: for a servant, considered as such, cannot inherit. We must, therefore, be the sons of the Highest, by adoption and regeneration, before we can justly hope to enjoy the heavenly patrimony. For however diligent the sons of God may be in keeping his commands, and in performing his will; they shall not possess it under the notion of a reward of duty, or as wages for work; but under the idea of a testamentary gift. Yes; it is a gift by way of legacy, and is bequeathed to them in the everlasting testament of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to those words; I appoint, by testa |