So the Apostle declares Rom. 5.2 3 11. We rejoyce or glory in hope of the glory of God and not only so but we glory in tribulations also And he comes over with that word again ver 11. saying and not only so but we glory in God 't is the same word in the Greek in all the three Verses though differently rendred in our Translation How do they thus glory in God 'T is through Jesus Christ who hath brougâ—t in this righteousness for them and by whose Death they were when Enemies reconciled to God and by whom they have received that Atonement They do glory before God in him only in whom they are and who is of God made righteousness unto them 1 Cor. 1.30 31. and in the unchangeableness of the Love of God towards them in Christ they do triumph even while they have before their eyes their own guiltiness in themselves and how much matter for Eternal condemnation there is in them for it is upon Christ's not being spared or abated any thing but being delivered up and dying and God's justifying all which plainly speak them in themselves obnoxious to condemnation and worthy of Death upon these things it is that the Apostle bottoms that challenge and raiseth that triumphant persuasion and Song of assurance which he there uttereth in the Name of all Believers Rom. 8.32 33 34 35 38 39. Believers have given them beauty for ashes the oyl of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness and they do greatly rejoyce in the Lord even in the Lord who was angry with them and their Souls are joyful in their God whom they know they have sinned against But how comes this to pass Is it because their sins are through tract of time out of Gods thoughts and Memory No a thousand years are with him but as one day He is an Eternal God and they are as fresh and present before him as if they were just then in committing Is it because God thinks better of their sins than formerly he did when he frown'd upon them and wrote bitter things against them No their sins are as distasteful to him as much hated by him as ever they were nor will he ever to Eternity have a better thought of any of them Is it because Believers are become more vain and senseless and slightly-spirited than they were in those former days of bitterness and anguish No verily they have more of the heart of Flesh than they then had and there is in them now a deeper sense of the evil of sin and a deeper work of the Spirit of Humiliation and more thorow thawings and meltings of heart before the face of God then ever Whence is it then and how comes it to pass that Believers are made even in the view of their own endless sin and guiltiness yet to triumph and rejoyce with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory It is hence God hath cloathed them with the Garments of Salvation he hath covered them with the robe of Righteousness as the Prophet speaks Isa 61.10 This righteousness of Christ is upon them and thence they have the consolations of God delighting their Souls and abounding in them Lastly There are not only such great and precious things injoyed by Believers while here but there are also things high and glorious laid up and reserved for them hereafter when they shall be here no more There shall be a Glory revealed in them far beyond all compare with any of the afflictions that they meet with in this World Rom. 8.18 They are now indeed the Sons of God and that is such manner of Love and so great that Men and Angels may stand and gaze and wonder at it But though now already they be thus loved nevertheless it doth not yet appear what they shall be Only we know that when the only begotten of God the Prince of Life and Lord of Glory shall appear then shall they appear with him in Glory and they shall see him as he is and they shall be made like him even these vile Bodies shall by him be fashioned like his own Glorious Body Colos 3.4 1 Joh. 3.1 2. Phil. 3.21 And in that day the world shall see and know and they themselves shall everlastingly feel that Christ is in his Father and they in Christ and he in them Joh. 14.20 And that both Christ and the Father too have loved them as the Father hath loved Christ and that very lo e wherewith the Father hath loved Christ himself shall be in them for ever John 15.19 Joh. 17.23 26. But now if you ask as she sometimes did concerning another great work of love and wonder Luke 1.34 How can these things ever be seeing they are such sinful such guilty such vile and loathsome and hateful Creatures in themselves This Text this Doctrine answers all in this one word The righteousness of Christ is through Faith unto them all and upon them all without difference who do believe Let your hearts answer and eccho back as Maâ—ries there did ver 38 45. Behold the handmaid of the Lord be it to me according to thy word Stagger not you at these great things as incredible as impossible ever to be done for you who are so ashamed of and do so exceedingly abhor your selves and who are worthy of nothing but to be rejected and abhorred of God eternally but believe take them in by Faith and by Faith receive the gift of this righteousness and then there shall most assuredly be a performance unto you even unto you of those things that have been told you from the Lord. ROM iii. 22. Even the Righteousness of God which is by Faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe for there is no difference THE Point of Doctrine observed from these words you may remember was to this purpose Doctrine There is a Righteousness of God which is by Faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all without difference who do believe Six things have been proposed to be spoken to for the clearing up of the Doctrine viz. 1. What is this Righteousness of God and why so called 2 How it is unto and upon all that believe 3. What is the import and meaning of that word without difference 4. What is this Faith of Jesus Christ 5. What reference hath this faith unto this Righteousness being on Believers 6. Whence is all this and how comes this about Of these particulars I have already gone through the three former and know not any need either to retract or to explain further what was then delivered so shall it go with your Souls so will God deal with every one of you as you receive or reject those Truths of his That which is now before me is those other three remaining particulars for the clearing up of the Doctrine and the further application of it And hereto I now address my self Q. 4. VVhat is this Faith of Jesus Christ Answ By Faith
lost and perishing and forlorne Condition And verily this is an heavy and an overwhelming guilt superadded unto all the rest You should take in Convictions of your condemned Condition and that the Wrath of God abideth on you and will do so as long as you continue in unbelief Do not flatter your selves and delude your own Consciences by saying I have mourned and I have wept bitterly for my sins and over my poor Soul and I have left them and amended and reformed my Life and I thank God I walk so and so blamelesly and exemplarily Be it so yet let me put these two Demands to thy Conscience 1. Are these things the Righteousness of Christ And 2. Are they Faith If they be not the Righteousness of Christ they can never justifie thee from any the least sin And if they be not Faith the Righteousness of Christ will never be upon thee by or thorow them The Scripture no where saith that the Righteousness of Christ is upon us through our repenting not yet through our amending and reforming no nor through any works of Righteousness and Obedience that we have done or can do No this is the Priviledge Prerogative and peculiar Office of Faith True it is these things are thy bounden Duties God will damn thee for neglecting them But yet as true and as certain it is that they neither are the Righteousness of Christ nor will they intitle thee to it and interest thee in it Know therefore that though thou couldst mourn Rivers of Tears or Seas of Bloody though thou couldst amend thy Life and reform thy way and thy heart too so as never more to sin and though for the time past of thy Life thou hadst and for all the time to come shouldst live like a Saint dropt down from Heaven and walk up and down in the World like an Angel in flesh shine and sparkle and glitter among the Sons of God yet as all this is not the Righteousness of Christ so neither would the Righteousness of Christ be upon thee through all these things for they are not Faith Thou art therefore in a state of Condemnation and the Wrath of God abides upon thee and will do so as long as thou continuest without Faith USE 3. This Doctrine speaks earnest exhortation to get Faith to believe And it speaks to you all one and other for you all stand in need of this Righteousness of Christ to be upon you the very least sinner among you all as well as the greatest As the Apostle Paul sometime said to Peter Gal. 2.15 16. We who are Jews by Nature and not sinners of the Gentiles knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but by the Faith of Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law for by the wâ—rks of the law shall no flesh be justified So I say to you that are not such grievous and atrocious sinners as some others are you as well as the greatest Sinners must believe in Jesus Christ that you may be justified And much more you whose own Consciences neither do nor can make any other judgment of you but that you are among the very chief of Sinners Sinners before the Lord exceedingly O do you get Faith See that you believe For in this way it will come to pass that the Righteousness of Christ shall be upon you and in no way by no means unless you believe You may try other courses you may gad about to change your way from foul to clean from careless and loose and prophane to strict and serious and circumspect but though you wash you with Nitre and take you much Soap yet your Iniquities will stand marked before the Lord your guilt the guilt of all your sins wilt still be upon you You may take up the practise of Duties and abound therein you may attain much light in Spiritual things and become Eminent in Gifts You may walk blamelesly in the Eye of the World you may live in the fellowship of Saints and in the observance of the Ordinances of God in the purest way of their Administration upon earth and yet be without this Righteousness of Christ upon you For these are not Faith It is therefore a preposterous course to begin with taking up of Duties without looking after Faith nay it is an errour in the Foundation and a building on the Sand All your building of Duties and Profession and Hopes will fall down and the fall thereof will be great and fearful Yet I fear it is the oversight and errour of many Professors among us at this day but it is a fatal and Soul-ruining one My advice and Exhortation to you therefore is that whatever you do in the concernments of your Souls look to it that you believe Whatever you neglect neglect not getting Faith Yea look to it in the first place Thus your Teachers should instruct and lead you This is the Apostles direction unto Titus that he should teach them that have believed to be careful to maintain or to excel in good works Tit. 3.8 not to teach and press Sinners in their unbelief to fall to doing good works first and overlook believing wholly or to postpone it after them And thus you should practise else you labour in the fire and weary your selves in very vanity for all your pain and toil and doing will not bring it about that the Righteousness of Christ shall be upon you for they are not Faith But through Faith that Righteousness will be upon you and being upon you it will produce good works and both your Works and your Persons be accepted your Persons first and then your Works And if you believe this Righteousness shall certainly be upon you and you shall be accepted and made Righteous in it how many or how heinous soever your sins have been or how great soever and amazing to your Consciences your guilt be For it is through Faith and net through works of Obedience that it is unto all and upon all without difference who do believe Therefore look to it that you do indeed believe look to it that your Faith be the Faith of God's Elect. Vse 4. This Doctrine speaks to Believers and to you it shows how you should live and walk before God so as to please injoy and glorifie him I will instance in three things 1. You should walk holily in all new Obedience If you be redeemed and delivered from Condemnation and Death as verily you are if this Righteousness be upon you it is that you might serve the Lord without fear slavish legal fear in holiness and righteousness in all the Duties required both in the First and Second Table of the Law and that before him in sincerity and uprightness of Heart as in his sight and all this not in a fit only or for a while but all the days of your lives Luke 1.74 75. This
Love this Grace of Christ should constrain you and make you thus judge That if one dyed for all then those all have dyed namely unto sin and he dyed that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him who dyed for them and rose again for their Justification and that they might rise unto newness of life 2 Cor. 5.14 15. Thus the Apostle Peter also argues pressing it upon Believers to be holy in all manner of conversation even as he who hath called you is holy And the ground upon which he inforceth it is this because they are redeemed with the precious Blood of Christ See 1 Pet. 1.14 15 16 18 19. 2. You should walk humbly also as well as holily This God doth require Mic. 6.8 for you stand accepted not in your selves nor in any Works of Righteousness that you have done but wholly in the Righteousness of Christ that is upon you through Faith Therefore when you have done all and attained to the utmost you should still be humble and say you are unprofitable servants Luke 17.10 For all your obedience and conformity to the Law avails no more to justifie you than your worst sins do and you should look on your best performances and your worst sins even with the same eye in the business of Justification Believers do own that all their best Righteousness is as to their Justification but as filthy rags Isa 64.6 and true Converts have the like and can have no worse thoughts of their worst sins Isa 30.22 Labour you should and abound in the work of the Lord not to work out a Righteousness to stand justified in before God No God forbid such a thought should ever be entertained by any Believer I do not think the Saints in Heaven would be willing to exchange and put off the Robe of Christs Righteousness to stand before God for acceptance in that perfect and spotless Holiness to which they have there attained Much less should any Believer be willing to stand and continue in a justified estate by his own imperfect defective and stained Obedience Neither indeed can I see how such a frame of Heart can be consistent with true Faith But obey you should because you have a Righteousness upon you in comparison and in competition wherewith the Righteousness of Men and Angels is to be despised Obey therefore to the utmost but look away from it when you have so done Obey not to acquire or continue to your selves an interest in this Righteousness much less to be your Righteousness before God but that you may show forth the Praises of him who hath called you into Fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ 3. You should also walk comfortably and rejoysingly as well as holily and humbly For you are made accepted in the beloved Standing in this Righteousness having it upon you through Faith you may you should rejoyse and glory not in your selves on any performances of yours or Graces inhering in you but in the Lord in whom you have both Righteousness and Strength For the Lord hath sworn that in him should all the seed of Israel be justified and glory Isa 45.23 24 25. Having by Faith received the atonement you may glory even in his presence of whom you are in Christ Jesus who is of God made unto you Wisdom Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption and you made the Righteousness of God in him that he that gloryeth should glory in the Lord. POST-SCRIPT THere are two Passages in the foregoing Sermons which have been exclaimed against publickly and privately by one that heard them not And I do believe he was angered by more than two For he is one that makes union to Christ our having this Righteousness upon us and our being justified by it to be given us in way of reward of something done by us and he is the man that makes the state of Believers to be undecided and in suspense during this Life Both which Errors are damning the former in its Nature and direct tendency the latter in its Grounds and Principles And whether he do not in truth disown the imputation of our Sins unto Christ and of his Righteousness unto us it is like if he live the VVorld will see more fully for he hath given such pregnant indications thereof as do amount to at least just cause of jealousie But touching these things he thought it best to keep silence and to fix his nails where he thought he had better advantage The one Point is pag. 7. That the Incarnation of Christ is no part of his Humiliation As to the truth of it as there laid down I shall say little more knowing it cannot be overthrown The whole stress of the matter lyes in those two words Incarnation and Humiliation how they are taken If the former be taken largely as comprising Christs taking both our Nature and the common sinless Frailties of it together with his being in the form of a servant and made under the Law I know not why it should be denyed to be a part of his Humiliation But if it be taken strictly for his dwelling in Flesh or Humane Nature comprehending under it both the act of assumption and the relation or union arising and effected thereby between the Humane Nature so assumed and the Person of the Son of God who did assume it neither the one nor the other of these neither the act of assuming nor the Union of the two Natures effected by it may be allowed to be any part of Christ's Humiliation For Humiliation is not in this argument to be taken laxly and improperly for any thing which hath Goodness or Grace in it as God's beholding things in Heaven and in Earth is said to be an humbling of himself Psal 113.6 So Christ might have been said to humble himself though he had never been Incarnate But in this subject Humiliation ought to be taken precisely for that which is proper and peculiar to the second Person in the Trinity which the Apostle calls his being in the form of a Servant or rather his being made under the Law Between which there may be conceived some difference for Christ is now in his state of Exaltation Gods Servant but he is not now under the Law as he was in the days of his Flesh and Frailty And taking these words thus it is far from being a singular conceit of mine that the Incarnation of Christ is not a part of his humiliation Mr. Bradshaw not only saith expresly Christ's assuming the Humane Nature cannot properly be said to be a part of his Humiliation but gives his reason for it of Justif ch 17. Sect. 7. and makes the Title of that Chapter to be this Christ that he might taken on him the guilt of sin was made man Whence it is evident that in his Judgment which is also the current Judgment of all Christians Christ's becoming Man was not the effect of the guilt of sin being on him but the way of his