of God by way of superlative pre-eminence, in opposi.. tion to any righteousness of our own, and in contradistinction to the righteousness of all creatures whatever. This righteousness is without the law: its efficacy has no dependance on, its merit receives no addition from any conformity of our practice to the divine law, being complete, absolutely complete in itself, and altogether sufficient to procure the reconciliation and acceptance of sinners. This righteousness is' witnessed by the law and the prophets,' receives a uniform attestation from the various writings of the Old Testament: to investigate which attestation, to examine its pertinency, and weigh its sufficiency, is our present pleasing business. We may begin with that gracious declaration made to the first transgressors: The seed of the woman shall, bruise the serpent's head," shall destroy the works of the devil, and retrieve whatever was lost by his malicious artifices. How could this be effected but by restoring that righteousness which for a while our first parents possessed, which they ought always to have held fast, but from which they so soon and so unhap pily swerved? Take the position in the right sense, and Christianity is, if not entirely, yet very nearly as old as the creation. It was comprehended in this blessed promise, as the stamina of the largest plants are con tained in the substance of their respective seeds; every subsequent revelation being no more than a gradual evolution of this grand evangelical principle, acting like the vegetative powers of nature, which, in rearing an oak with all its spread of branches, only expand the tunicles, and fill up the vessels of the acorn. This doctrine seems to have been typically taught by the remarkable manner of clothing our first parents. All they could do for their own recovery was like the a third and a fourth time, styles this wonderful obedience, My righteousness: as though the God of infinite perfection gloried in it, thought himself most eminently magnified by it, and was jealous to have all the honour resulting from it. See Isa. li. Gen. fil. 15. + In some such sense I think our first parents must understand the promise; otherwise it could yield them no effectual relief under the distressing sense of their own misery, and the dismal apprehension of their posterity's ruin. patched and beggarly mantle of fig-leaves. This they relinquish, and God himself furnishes them with apparel. Animals are slain, not for food, but sacrifice: and the naked criminals are arrayed with the skins of those slaughtered beasts. The victims figured the expiation of Christ's death; the clothing typified the imputation of his righteousness. In perfect conformity, perhaps with a reference to the passage thus interpreted, the apostle just now expressed himself, even the righte ousness of God, which is not only made overt to all believers as a rich portion, but putt upon all as a beautiful garment, whereby alone their moral deformity can be covered, and their everlasting confusion prevented. Milton, it is certain, speaking of this memorable transaction, considers it in the same spiritual sense: Nor he their outward only with the skins Of beasts, but inward nakedness (much more. "In thy seed,' says the great Jehovah to his servant Abraham, 'shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.'t That the seed here mentioned is Christ, the apostles places beyond all doubt. Both Scripture and reason declare, that true blessedness must necessarily include the pardon of sins and the favour of God, the sanctifi. cation of our souls, and the inheritance of life eternal; none of which are to be acquired by any human per formances; but all are to be sought, and all may be found, in the root and offspring of Abraham, Jesus Christ, who is therefore most pertinently styled, The Desire of all Nations:" the actual desire of every enlightened nation, and the implicit desire of all nations whatever; because all, without any exception, covet what is to be derived only from Jesus Christ the righteous, real happiness. The patriarchal age, and the legal economy, bore Gen. ill. 21. + Rom. iii. 22. ΕΙΣ παντας, ΕΠΙ παντας τους πιστεύον τας. 1 Gen. xxii. 18. See St. Paul's comment upon this invaluable promise, Gal. iii. 9, &c. This commentator, we all allow, was guided by the Spirit, and knew the mind of God. According to his exposition of the text, it is pregnant with the doctrine of justification by faith, and contains an abridgment of the gospel. Hag. ii. 7. their testimony to this truth by typical persons, emblematical miracles, and figurative usages. Indeed, the whole ceremonial service was a grand series of types, representing Christ and his everlasting righteousness: in all which this was the unanimous, though silent lan. guage, 'Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.' These I shall not stay to discuss, because proofs of a more explicit and positive nature wait for our consideration: only I would just make a transient observation relating to one very remarkable constitution in the Jewish ritual. The high-priest had, on the front of his mitre, a plate of pure gold, engraven with that venerable motto, Holiness to the Lord;' which was always to be on his forehead when he performed the solemn ministrations of the sanctuary; and for this important reason, that the people might be accepted before the Lord.'t Did not this most clearly foreshew the immaculate holiness of our great High-priest? and with equal clearness imply, that his holiness should procure acceptance for all his followers? In the Book of Job we have several hints of this truth, and one passage very express to our purpose. Elihu describes an unconverted person under the chas tising hand of Providence, Whose life,' through the extremity of his disease, drew near to the grave; and his soul,' through the multitude of his iniquities, was ready to become a prey to the destroyers. In this deplorable condition, if there be present with him the Messengert of the covenant of peace, that great Interpreter of the divine counsels, who, for his superexcellent wisdom, is justly deemed 'One among a thou Exod. xxviii, 36, 37. + Exod. xxviii. 38. See Job. xxxiii. 22, &c. Christ is called the Angel of the divine presence, Isa. Ixiii. 9.; the Messenger of the covenant, Mal. iii. 1. He is also, in the most unlimited sense of the phrase, the Interpreter of the divine counsels; he, to whom the Father bath given the tongue of the learned, and by whom makes known the otherwise unsearchable mysteries of the gos pel. Should any doubt remala concerning the propriety of applying this passage to our Lord Jesus Christ, the reader, I hope, will give himself the pleasure of perusing the polite Witsius, Econ. lib. iv. cap. ill. xxxi., and Dr. Grey's valuable notes upon the place, in his Liber Jobi. sand, or rather the chiefest among ten thousand. If he, by his enlightening Spirit, vouchsafe to shew unto the afflicted 'man his' own perfect righteousness, that most meritorious 'uprightness,' on which alone a sinner may depend both for temporal and eternal salvation, 'then' the poor distressed creature, attentive to this instruction, and applying this righteousness, is made partaker of pardon, God,' the sovereign Lord of life and death, is gracious unto him, and saith,' in the greatmess of his strength, as well as in the multitude of his mercies, 'Deliver him from, going down to the pit' of corruption, as a pledge of his deliverance from the pit of perdition, for I have found a ransom,' sufficient to satisfy my justice; I have received an atonement in behalf of this once obnoxious, now reconciled transgressor. But why do I select one particular paragraph? It geems to be the main design of the whole book to overthrow all pretensions of any justifying righteousness in man, that the wretched sinner, nay, that the greatest saint, stript of every personal plea, may rely only on the merits of a Redeemer. This is the final issue of all those warm debates which pass between the afflicted hero and his censorious friends. This is the grand result of Elihu's calm reasoning, and of God Almighty's awful interrogatories; the apparent centre this, in which all the lines terminate, justly therefore to be considered as the principal scope of the whole work. 1 must not omit an excellent observation which I find in some critical and explanatory notest on the last words of David; the judicious author proving that this song relates to Christ; that it displays the dignity of our Redeemer, under the character of the King,' and 'the Just Oue;' adds, as an explication of the last amiable and glorious title, 'Our Lord Jesus Christ is so called, not so much for having fulfilled all righteousness in his own person, and performed an unsinning obedience to the will of God, as because by his righteousness imputed See Job xlii. 6. + By Dr. Grey. See 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, &c. to us, we also, upon the terms of the gospel, are jus tified, or accounted righteous before God.' I think we may evidently discern the same vein of evangelical doctrine running through many of the psalms: He shall convert+ my soul,'-turn me, not only from sin and ignorance, but from every false confidence, and every deceitful refuge. He shall bring me forth in paths of righteousness,' in those paths of imputed righteousness which are always adorned with the trees of holiness, are always watered with the fountains of consolation, and always terminate in everlasting rest. Some, perhaps, may ask why I give this sense to the passage; why may it not signify the paths of duty, and the way of our own obedience? Because such effects are here mentioned as never have resulted, and never can result, from any duties of our own. These are not 'green pastures,' but a parched and blasted heath. These are not still waters,' but a troubled and disorderly‡ stream. Neither can these speak may signify That is, freely, or, as the prophet speaks, without money and without price;' for nothing is requisite in order to a partícipation of Christ and his benefits, but a conviction of our extreme need, and an unfeigned desire to receive them as gifts of pure grace vouchsafed to the most undeserving creatures. This point, which is so intimately connected with our comfort and hope, the reader may see more full stated in Dialogue XV. + Psal. xxiii. 3. I am sensible the word to refresh or restore, may answer to the Greek phrase aveyve, and denote the comforts of the Holy Ghost. This verb may also bear the same signification with the participle επιστρέψας, in our Lord's exhortation to Peter, When thou art converted, not describing the first grand revolution in the heart, by which a new determination is given to the judgment, and a new bias to the affections; but expressing those subsequent operations of the Divine Spirit, by which we are recovered from our various relapses, and healed of our daily infirmities; and I question whether there is any instance in which we more frequently need these restoring aids, than in the case of adhering to our Redeemer's righteousness; so prone are we to forget our restingplace!' so liable to fall from our steadfastness in Christ! Blasted, disorderly-Let not these words grate on the ear; or, if they grate on the ear, let them humble the heart. What were Job's duties! Zealous and exemplary; practised from his very youth; and neither excelled nor equalled by any person on earth. Yet these, in point of justification, were not a whit better han Aspasio represents. Let us hear the last words of this matchless saint, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.' From this confession we learn that, with all his furniture of personal obedience, he had just enough to be ashamed, confounded, undone. |