[3.] In the very passive obedience of Christ, the active part is the chief ; for the sufferings of Christ do not sim])ly justify us. but as they are the sufferings of Christ, voluntarily yielding up himself in obed- ience to his Father's will. For Christ was to be considered as the sac- rifice or the priest : as a sacrifice, so passive ; as a priest, so active : Phil. ii. 8, ' He became obedient to death, even the death of the cross;' and Heb. x. 10, ' By the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.' He willingly undertook to do for us wliat we were bound to do.
Use 2. Is to press you to go to Christ, that you may be interested in his righteousness : it cometh by union.
The rules are these : —
1. See the insufficiency of your own righteousness. The creatures' fig-leaves will never cover a naked soul ; there must be first a sight of your own vileness, and of your own inability to help yourselves out of
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it. It is observable in John xvi. 8, that the Spirit doth first convince ot" sin and then of" rig^hteousness. Cin*ist doth not seek us till we be lost, and we cannot seek Christ till we are lost. The soul doth most truly seek Christ when loosened from all other things, from all false I)rops and expectations, and seeth plainly that it shall peiish if it have not an interest in Christ. As Simon Peter said, John vi. 68, ' Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou hast the words of eternal life.' Whither should we go? thou hast the only righteousness.
2. Consider your own filthy rags, and then you will long, desire, and groan for change of raiment. Alas ! your persons are covered with your own guilt, and your natures are full of sin ; what will you do to appear before God ? Alas ! you can scarce keep up a fair show before a discerning man ; what will you do before a God of pure eyes ? Job XV. 15, ' The heavens are not clean in his sight.' The holy angels in comparison of God are nothing, yea, less than nothing. But do you think to help yourselves by your services, your duties, and good meanings ? Alas ! as long as you stick there, no good will be done : the saints blame themselves in the sense of their duties ; their best per- formances are poor, worthless things : Isa. Ixiv. 6, ' But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.' They will not make your souls amiable : Phil. iii. 9, 'And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness.'
3. Consider the willingness of God to clothe you with the righteous- ness of Jesus Christ ; Christ was appointed to this very end : Rom. iii. 25, 'Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness.' God's design was to lay open his heart to the creatures, and to show how willing he was that you should come unto him in this way : 1 Cor. i. 30, ' Who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness.' If we had framed it, it had been more doubtful, but God appointed a righteousness of his own making; and therefore it is everywhere called in scripture ' the righteousness of God,' not only because it was the righteousness of God-man, Christ Jesus, but God's righteousness, that is, of his appointment.
4. Consider the worth of this righteousness ; it is better than if we had stood in our innocency, and had procured it in our own persons. Luke XV. 22, it is called ' the best robe;' better than we should have liad if we had stayed in our father's house ; far better than that we lost in Adam. Our repair is more excellent than our first make, and it contents God better ; the creature is most humbled, and God most exalted : this is as it should be, when we have nothing in ourselves, and fetch all from God. It is as good as the best of the saints have ; you are as righteous as David, and as righteous as Abraham and all the worthies of God : Pvom. iii. 22, ' Even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all that be- lieve, for there is no difference.' In this case there is no difference indeed : Rev. xix. 8, ' And to her was granted that she should be ar- rayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteous- ness of the saints.' The saints have one common righteousness ; as it was with the Israelites in point of the manna, none had more than another, none had over or under ; nay, higher, it is as good or better than the righteousness of angels, for they are confirmed in their own
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righteousness. Isn. vi. 2, the seraphlms covered their faces as beinp; abashed at the glorious holiness of God ; and before him they are not clean, they cannot stand before the holiness of God. And in Job iv. 18, ' His angels he chargeth with folly;' that is, comparatively, and in respect of himself, they might be accused, rather than accounted righteous. But now we may have access with confidence and boldness, as the apostle saith, Eph. iii. 12, because we do not come in our own holiness, but Christ's. Nay, further, in some sort, it maketh us as righteous as Christ himself; therefore it is said, 1 John iii. 7, 'He that doth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous ; ' that is, he doth truly show forth that he is righteous in Christ's righteousness ; nay, this is a righteousness that will endure God's sight. You must needs obtain the blessing in the garment of your elder brother.