[11.] Eleventhly, A godly man may argue thus: They which truly ' hunc^er and thirst after righteousness are blessed, and shall be filled,' Mat. V. 6 ; or they that are hungering and thirsting, as the Greek runs, beino- the participle of the present tense, intimating, that wherever this is the present disposition of men's souls, they are blessed.^ He that sees an absolute necessity of the righteousness of Christ to justify him, and to enable him to stand boldly before the throne of God ; he that sees his own righteousness to be but as filthy rags, Isa. Ixiv. 4 ; to he but as dross and dung, Philip, iii. 7, 8 ; he that sees the Lord Jesus Christ, with all his riches and righteousness, clearly and freely offered to poor sinners in the everlasting gospel ; he that in the gospel-glass sees Christ to be made sin for them, that knew no sin, that they may be made the righteousness of God in him, 2 Cor. v. 21 ; he that in the same glass sees Christ to be made wisdom, and righteousness, and sanc- tification, and redemption, to all those that are sincerely willing to make a venture of their immortal souls and eternal estates, upon him and his righteousness ; and he that sees the righteousness of Christ to be a most perfect, pure, complete, spotless, matchless, infinite righteous- ness ; and under these apprehensions and persuasions is carried out in earnest and unsatisfied hungerings and thirstings, to be made a partaker of this rio-hteousness, and to be assured of this righteousness, and to put on this righteousness as a royal robe, Isa. Ixi. 10, he is the blessed soul ; and he that hungers and thirsts after the righteousness of Christ imparted, as well as after the righteousness of Christ imputed, after the rio-hteousness of sanctifi cation, as well as after the righteousness of justifi- cation, he is a blessed soul, and shall at last be filled.^ The righteousness of sanctification, or inherent righteousness, lies in the Spirit's infusing into the soul those holy principles, divine qualities, or supernatural graces, that the apostle mentions in that Gal. v. 22, 23. These habits of grace, which are severally distinguished by the names of faith, love, hope, meekness, &c., are nothing else but the new nature or new man, which after God is created in righteousness and ti-ue holiness, Eph. iv. 24. He that hungers and thirsts after the righteousness of sancti- fication, out of a deep serious sense of his own unrighteousness ; he that
1 They are not therefore blessed because they hunger and thirst, but because tliey shall be filled ; blessedness will be in fulness, not in hunger ; but hunger must go before filling that we may not loathe the loaves. — Augustine, Dc verbis Domini, Serm. v.
2 Some take hungering and thirsting here literally, comparing of it with Luke vi, 21. Others understand the words morally ; by hungering aud thirsting tliey undi'rstand a moral hunger and thirst, which is, when men hungiir and thirst for justice and judg- ment to be rightly executed. Ps. cxix. 5, 10, 20, 131 ; Judges xv. 18; 1 Chrou. xi. 18 Ps. xlii. 1, 2.
Chap. I.] a cabinet of jewels. 271
hungers and thirsts after the righteousness of sanctification, as earnestly as hungry men do for meat, or as thirsty men do for drink, or as the innocent person that is falsely charged or accused longs to be cleared and righted, or as Rachel did for children, or as David did after the water of the well of Bethlehem, or as the hunted hart doth after the water brooks; he that hungers and thirsts not after some righteousness only, but he that hungers and thirsts after all righteousness ; he that hungers and thirsts not only after some grace, but all grace ; not only after some holiness, but all holiness ; he that hungers and thirsts after righteousness, out of love to righteousness ; he that hungers and thirsts after righteousness, from a sight and sense of the loveliness and excel- lency that there is in righteousness, Philip, iii. 10-15 ; he that hungers and thirsts after the highest degrees and measures of righteousness and holiness, Ps. Ixiii. 1, 8 ; he that primarily, chiefly, hungers and thirsts after righteousness and holiness, Jer. xv. 16 ; he that industriously hungers and thirsts after righteousness and holiness ; he that ordinarily, habitually, constantly, hungers and thirsts after righteousness and holi- ness: Ps. cxix. 20, ' My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.' By judgments we are to understand the statutes and commandments of God. Mark that word, ' at all times.' Bad men have theu- good moods, as good men have their bad moods. A bad man may, under gripes of conscience, a smarting rod, the approaches of death, or the fears of hell, or when he is sermon-sick, cry out to the Lord for grace, for righteousness, for hoHness ; but he is the only blessed man that hungers and thirsts after righteousness at all times, and that hungers and thirsts after righteousness, according to the other fore-mentioned short hints. He is certainly a blessed man, heaven is for that man, and that man is for heaven, that hungers and thirsts in a right manner after the righteousness of justification, and after the righteousness of sanctification. But I do truly hunger and thirst after righteousness ; therefore I am blessed, and shall be filled, &c.
[12.] Twelfthly, A godly man may argue thus: Such as are truly and graciously ' merciful, are blessed, and shall obtain mercy,' Mat. v. 7. Mercy is a commiserating of another man's misery in our hearts, or a sorrow for another man's distress, or a heart-grieving for another man's grief, arising out of an unfeigned love unto the party ajSlicted.' Or more plainly thus : mercy is a pitying of another man's misery, with a desire and endeavour to help him to the uttermost of our ability. The Hebrew for godly, non, chasid, signifies gracious, merciful. The more godly any man is, the more merciful that man will be. ' Blessed are the merciful,' that is, blessed are they that shew mercy to others, out of a deep sense of the mercy of God to them in Christ. Blessed are such who shew mercy out of love to mercy, out of a delight in mercy ; blessed are such as shew mercy out of love and obedience to the God of mercy ; blessed are such as shew mercy to men in misery, upon the account of the image of God, the glory of God that is stamped upon them ; blessed are such as extend their piety and mercy, not only to men's bodies, but also to their precious and immortal souls. Soul- mercy is the chief of mercies. The soul is the most precious jewel in ' Micah vi. 8 ; Luke vi- 36. — Augustine, Be Civit. Dei, ix. 13.
272 A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. I.