^ Look, as Adam conveys his guilt to all his cliildron, so Christ conveys his righteous- ness to all his : he was caput cum foedere, as well as the first Adam.
246 NINE STRONG CONSOLATIONS THAT FLOW FROM
Batisfaction in. The rigliteousness the apostle speaks of in that scripture last mentioned, is not to be understood of the essential righteousness of Christ, which is infinite, and no ways communicable to the creature, unless we will make a creature a god ; but we are to understand it, of that righteousness of Clirist that is imputed to believers, as their sin is imputed to him. Now what a well of salva- tion is here 1 What three noble grounds and what matchless bottoms are here for a Christian's joy and triumph in Christ Jesus, who hath put so glorious a robe as his own righteousness upon them ! Ah, Christians, let not the consolations of God be small in your eyes, Job XV. 11 ; why take you no more comfort and delight in Clirist Jesus ? why rejoice you no more in him ? Not to rejoice in Christ Jesus is a plain breach of that gospel command, ' Rejoice ii^ the Lord alway,' that is, rejoice in Christ, ' and again I say, rejoice,' saith the apostle, Phil. iv. 4. He doubleth the mandate, to shew the necessity and ex- cellency of the duty: so Phil. iii. 1, 'Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.' Now, in some respects, the breach of the commands of the gospel are greater than the breach of the commands of the moral law ; for the breach of the commands of the gospel carrieth in it a contempt and light esteem of Jesus Christ, see Heb. ii. 2, 3, viii. 6, and X. 28, 29. Men's not rejoicing in Christ Jesus must flow from some dangerous humour, and base corruption or other, that highly dis- tempers their precious souls. If all created excellencies, if all the privileges of God's people, if all the kingdoms of the earth, and the glory of them, were to be presented at one view, they would all appear as nothing and emptiness, in comparison of the excellency and fulness that is to be found in Christ Jesus : and therefore the greater is their sin, who rejoice not in Christ Jesus. Do you ask me where be my jewels ? my jewels are my husband and his triumjDhs, said Phocion's wife.^ Do you ask me where be my ornaments? my ornaments are my two sons brought up in virtue and learning, said the mother of the Gracchi. Do you ask me where be my treasures ? my treasures are my friends, said Constantius, the father of Constantine. But now, if you ask a child of God, when he is not clouded, tempted, deserted, dejected, where be his jewels, his treasures, his ornaments, his comfort, his joy, his delight ; he will answer with that martyr, none but Christ, none but Christ. Oh ! none to Christ, none to Christ ! ' Christ is all in all unto me,' Col. iii. 11. Sterna erit exultatio, quce bono loetatur CBterno : That joy lasts for ever, whose object remains for ever. Such an object is our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the joy of the saints should still be exercised upon our Lord Jesus Christ. Shall the worldling rejoice in his barns, the rich man in his bags, the ambitious man in his honours, the voluptuous man in his pleasures, and the Avanton in his Delilahs ; and shall not a Christian rejoice in Christ Jesus, and in that robe of righteousness, and in those garments of salvation, with which Christ hath covered him? Isa. Ixi. 10. The joy of that Christian that keeps a fixed eye upon Christ and his righteousness cannot be expressed, it cannot be painted. No man can paint the sweetness of the honeycomb, nor the sweetness of a cluster of Canaan, nor the fragrancy of the rose of Sharon. As the being of
' Plutarch in Phocione.
THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST's RIGHTEOUSNESS. 247
things cannot be painted, so the sweetness of things cannot be painted. The joy of the Holy Ghost cannot be painted, nor that joy that arises in a Christian's heart, who keeps up a daily converse with Christ and his righteousness, cannot be painted, it cannot be expressed. Who can look upon the glorious body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and seriously consider, that even every vein of that blessed body did bleed to bring him to heaven, and not rejoice in Christ Jesus ? who can look upon the glorious righteousness of Christ, imputed to him, and not be filled with an exuberancy of spiritual joy in God his Saviour? There is not the pardon of the least sin, nor the least degree of grace, nor the least drop of mercy, but cost Christ dear, for he must die, and he must be made a sacrifice, and he must be accursed, that pardon may be thine, and grace thine, and mercy thine : and oh, how should this draw out thy heart to rejoice and triumph in Christ Jesus 1 The work of redemption sets both angels and saints a-rejoicing and triumphing in Christ Jesus, Rev. v. 11-14 ; and why not we, why not we also, who have received infinite more benefit by the work of redemption, than ever the angels have ? Rev. i. 5, 6, and v. 8-10. A beautiful face is at all times pleasing to the eye ; but then especially, when there is joy manifested in the countenance. Joy in the face puts a new beauty upon a person, and makes that which before was beautiful, to be exceeding beautiful, it puts a lustre upon beauty ; so does holy joy and rejoicing in Christ Jesus, put, as it were, a new beauty and lustre upon Christ. Though the Romans punished one that feasted, and looked out at a window with a garland on his head, in the second Punic war ;i yet, you may be sure, that God will never punish you for rejoicing and triumphing in Christ Jesus, let the times be never so sad or bad, in respect of war, blood, or misery. But,